


Orbits Shifting

by aionwatha



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-05
Updated: 2013-09-07
Packaged: 2017-11-21 11:09:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 108,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aionwatha/pseuds/aionwatha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SciFi AU. When Rossi contacts Morgan about some passengers wanting to get off-planet, he definitely didn't foresee all of the complications that would result from it. Morgan/Reid centric (slash), other pairings inside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Note:** _My first Criminal Minds fic! Not inspired by Star Wars, believe it or not._  
>  **Beta-readers:** _[Bardicfaerie](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/923015/bardicfaerie) & [Altivolant Corvidae](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/4361087/Altivolant-Corvidae)._  
>  **Disclaimer:** _Not mine._  
>  **Warning:** _This fic will contain graphic slash, as well as mentions of het and femslash. Don't read if any of these offend you._  
>  **Lexicon:**  
>  _P-rep(s) = police representative(s)_  
>  _M-rep(s) = Medical representative(s)_  
>  _dec(s) = day(s) ((originally capital-ized as DEC(s) for Day Equivalent Counter, people started just reading it as a word so it's now lower-cap))_  
>  _mec(s) = month(s)_  
>  **Wordcount:** _102,747 words (without my comments)._

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan gets custommers.

* * *

**Chapter 01 **

Derek Morgan had always considered himself a fairly observant individual, and a good judge of character. And this particular character sitting across the table from him and Rossi was _oily_. He didn't know how else to describe him, like somehow the man, introduced only as Henry, tried a little too hard to portray an air of respectability, and fell short. By a few light-years. For one, he wore too much white. Morgan didn't trust people who wore too much white. It was as if they were trying too hard to look irreproachable, as if somehow dressing in purity would make people believe that they, themselves, were without defect as well. That or they were too important to do any work that might bring a single speck of dust in contact with their clothes. Either way, grade A douche-bags.

Then there was the way Sir Creep looked at them. As if he were some kind of god-damn aristocrat staring down at subjects he'd love nothing more than to send to the gallows. If it weren't for the fact that David Rossi had brought Sir Oily to him, Morgan would have just up and walked away. His eyes went back and forth from one to the other as he set his glass of ale down on the rickety table. “How much?” he asked, because if Rossi had brought such a fishy customer a-knocking, then chances were that the pay-off would be good. Very. Good.

“Forty grand after my cut,” Rossi said, and Morgan knew that was exactly what he would see after the deal. He'd been doing business with him for over a decade, and Rossi had never gone back on his word or changed the terms of an agreement. He glanced at his on-and off partner again before returning his gaze to his would-be customer.

“Cargo?” was his next question.

“Passengers,” Henry answered, and that earned him a disbelieving look.

“Passengers,” Morgan repeated, certain that he had heard that wrong. “Forty Gs for passengers? I don't deal in human trafficking.”

Henry smiled. A slimy smile. The slimiest smile Morgan had ever seen, and he had dealt with a _lot_ of unsavoury characters. “Nothing illegal,” Henry assured him. “We just need to get from point A – that would be here – to point B.”

“So take a taxi,” Morgan said, feeling like he should be offended that Mister Slimy felt he had to specify with such contempt where point A was. As if this Henry guy thought him too dull-witted to make that out on his own. He sure _looked_ as though that's what he thought of Morgan.

“A taxi would take years,” the pale man replied. “I hear you have the fastest ride this side of physics, and it is quite the emergency.”

Morgan eyed him. “I'm guessing you're going pretty far, then?”

Henry nodded. “I need you to take me and another passenger to Bennington, and back by the new school term.”

Morgan had to think a minute to remember when school terms usually began, then how far the Bennington medical settlement was, and his eyebrows went up high on his forehead. “You serious?” That got him another nod. “Bennington and back in sixty decs?! Even ambulances would take eighty, and no civilian's allowed to go that fast, man.”

“Oh, I'm well aware of the limitations imposed on us by, well,” Mister Slimy shrugged eloquently. “Which is why I desperately need your help, my friend.” Morgan nearly walked out on him, just for calling him that. “I hear you have the fastest ship anyone has ever seen, and I need it.”

Morgan threw Rossi another look. He was certain the man wouldn't sell him to the P-reps. Well, fairly certain, anyway. “How many passengers?” he wanted to know.

“Just two. I'm escorting a young man to his mother's side, you see. She was taken to Bennington yesterday after a most dreadful episode. If we go through the,” Henry looked around conspiratorially, making himself look even more suspicious than he already was, “ah, usual ferries, it could be years before he could see his mother again.”

“I see,” Morgan said, trying not to grimace, “so you're a humanitarian, then, huh.”

Henry leaned back in his chair. “No, nothing like that. Professor Reid is a colleague of mine. Her mental state has been deteriorating steadily, but I would have never imagined...” He shook his head in a manner seemed like he meant to be sad.

Morgan ran his tongue over his lips thoughtfully, then tapped them with the tip of his index finger. “Well,” he finally said, “Rossi's an old friend and he brought you here. That's a good enough insurance in my book. We'll meet at 0100 at the Red Lounge where you can arrange payments. All money goes through Rossi, and I don't take you to Her,” there was a strong capitalization in the way he spoke of his ship, “until I'm absolutely certain you got no trick up your sleeves.”

“Agreed,” Henry said and didn't offer his hand, but simply stood and walked out.

Morgan turned to Rossi. “You sure about him?”

David gave him an unamused, lopsided smile. “No, kiddo, but the money's good and I had my people look into his credentials. He didn't give me anything but his first name, but I've since found out his name is Professor Henry Rothschild and he works for the University, where Diana Reid was professor of Earthen literature until she had a breakdown in front of her class yesterday. M-reps took her to Bennington by ambulance. She has a twenty-five year old son, Doctor Spencer Reid, who was apparently in a horrible state when he heard the news.”

Morgan was impressed. “Wow, you managed to learn all of that in just a day?”

“No.” Rossi's grin intensified. “In the two hours between when he approached me and when I called you.”

“Damn, man,” Morgan grinned right back, “damn.”

“Oh, the kid's apparently some sort of genius,” David added, taking a sip of his dark ale.

“Yeah,” Morgan chuckled, “with a name like that, he oughta be!”

Rossi laughed. “No, I mean he's an actual genius, with multiple degrees in just about every subject imaginable. I suggest you stick 'em both in the hull with a couple of reading pads while you stay on deck with that thing you call music blaring from your speakers, or this will be an insanely long flight.”

Morgan chuckled, hit the table twice with the flat of his hand, then pushed himself to his feet. “A'right, Rossi. I'mma check on the Girl and then take a nap, since it seems I'll be up half the night. See you at one.”

David raised his glass and Morgan turned his back on him, making his way out into the hot afternoon sun. The warehouse he called home wasn't too far from the bar. He had started renting it from Rossi years ago to house his ship away from prying eyes, but he pretty much lived in it, now. He had gotten rid of the little closet he had called his flat before. Since he had started working with Rossi, he was on the road more often than on Kaltek nowadays anyway.

He ran his hand along the side of his precious space ship as he walked around her, inspecting her like he did whenever he was preparing for a trip. A sort of greeting more than just to check for scratches and marks. “Hey Girl,” he said softy, “guess what. We've got work. Two people to carry all the way to Bennington.” He patted her side gently. “You up for it, baby? We'll need your inner Sleeping Beauty.”

The Aurora wasn't a big ship by any stretch of the imagination, but it was big enough for his business, both legal and... not so legal. It was an Ace class ship, built for speed rather than firepower. As a matter of fact, she only had two guns. It could comfortably accommodate up to five people on long trips without them stepping all over one another. Two cabins with two twin sized cots each, Morgan's own cabin, a common area for lounging and eating, an exercise room, then the cargo bay, not all of it visible to inspectors. There were two escape pods, each fitting only one person, two if you squished. But the size of the Aurora wasn't what was so beautiful about her. She, like Morgan, had her own set of secrets.

The name of the ship had been decided on a drunken night Derek had spent with his sisters, when they were en route to Kaltek. He had said she might not look like much but inside her was a sleeping beauty. Désirée had jumped on it, called her Aurora like the girl in some old folk tale that no one remembered the origin to anymore and the name had stuck, as well as calling her special engine Sleeping Beauty. Ten years on, and Aurora and he were still thick as thieves. That was over ten times longer than he had spent with any flesh and blood girl, but that was all right with him. He was barely ever home anyway, he didn't need some clingy girl demanding he stay for her, like some had tried in the past.

There was a tingle under his hand and he smiled. Oh she'd do it for him, all right. He patted her side again and then pressed the panel that would unlatch the door. It slid open with a bit of a groan, and he inspected the mechanism as it was slowly unveiled, checking for damage. There wasn't any, and Morgan went in to retrieve his maintenance box. A bit of lubrication, and it was on to inspect the rest of his ship. Two hours and a shower later, he flopped into bed. He flicked his thumbs over the screen of his hand-held house screen, setting an alarm for later that night. That done, he let himself drift off.

He woke up just a little before his alarm was set to go off and rolled out of bed with a groan. The room gradually got brighter, the sensors picking up on his wakeful state as soon as he was conscious of the fact himself. He flicked a setting on his screen, which unset the alarm and started the coffee in the kitchenette. A few minutes later, clean and wearing a fresh set of clothes, he ambled into the communal area of his ship and grabbed the cup of coffee that was sitting on the machine, waiting for him. He sipped at the brown liquid, already sifting through the news on his pad. Once he had had his two cups of coffee and had caught up with the news podcast he was interested in, he glanced at the clock at the corner of the screen and decided that leaving now would give him time for a glass of the famous Red brew before the Rothschild creep arrived.

The Red Lounge was always crowded, and today was no exception. Morgan liked meeting people here because no one noticed one more person coming or going when there were this many people around, drinking, chatting and dancing. Plus, the ambient darkness made it kind of impossible to see who came and went. All Morgan had to do was keep an eye out for that long white hair, and he'd be fine. But people wouldn't be paying them any attention. He found Rossi at the bar, at his usual spot by the wall. He claimed the seat next to him and glanced down at the menu, quickly flicking through a few screens before he found what he was looking for and touched the picture, then the button labelled 'order.' That done, he turned to the older man. “You're early,” he commented.

Rossi glanced at him before sipping at his ale. “So are you.”

“What can I say,” Morgan grinned at him, “the brew is good here.” Some pretty blond thing put a glass in front of him with an inviting smile. Morgan nodded to her and grabbed his drink. She left to attend to other customers, and Morgan took a sip of his ale.

There was a moment of relative quiet, occupied only by the music and conversations around him. Then Rossi turned his head in his direction. “This man, Rothschild? Something's fishy about him.”

“You think?” Morgan's tone was slightly sardonic, but he knew Rossi wouldn't take it the wrong way. “The guy's slimier than a can of hagfish.”

“True,” Rossi said, before giving him an amused look. “You've eaten hagfish?”

“No,” Morgan shrugged, “that's the kind of shit the elite convince themselves is good to eat just 'cause it's insanely expensive to import. I wouldn't try it if it was the last thing left to eat in the entire solar system.”

Rossi snorted and finished his ale, his free hand already ordering another. “Rothschild's been making off-planet calls since he left us,” he said when he was done, “and I'm not liking it.”

“Maybe he's just putting some things in order?” Morgan suggested, though he didn't really believe it himself. “I mean, he's going to be flying for a while. I can't be going faster than the ambulance on the way to Bennington or the little genius' mama ain't gonna be there when we arrive. There's no point in arriving in less than forty decs.” Rossi gave him a look and he shrugged. “I don't know, man, I'm just sayin'. But I'll watch my back if Mama's worried.”

“Derek,” Rossi warned, “you know I love you, and because I love you, I have to say this. Don't. Ever. Call me that again.”

Morgan laughed, glad to have riled up the older man without pissing him off. It was a fine line to toe around, and he was pretty good at it. One glass led to another, but he sipped that one slowly, knowing he'd be flying out in a couple hours. They talked about past customers that had tried to con them, about the new repair shop that had opened in the neighbourhood, and even a little about themselves. The conversation flowed easily and Rossi had been telling him about how insane his third wife had been when he suddenly stopped and blinked. Morgan frowned and turned around, following his line of sight. There was Mister Oily near the entrance and with him was this kid barely old enough to walk without holding his mama's hand, never mind be in a place like this. Twenty-five years old; yeah, right. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me,” he groaned. “Don't tell me that _kid_ is the genius I'm supposed to be giving a ride to?! He looks like a toddler who just fell through his great-grandpa's closet.” He gave him another look. “His _blind_ great-grandpa.”

“Yeah, I had seen a picture,” Rossi said, “but it didn't really do him justice. It was a head-shot.” He glanced at Morgan. “Now, now, Derek. Play nice.”

“I knew this was gonna suck,” he replied, “but _man_. Do I look like a god-damn babysitter?!”

“Forty grand,” Rossi reminded him.

With a sigh, Morgan pushed himself to his feet and made his way to his two customers. As he crossed the dance floor, a girl wrapped her arms around him, trying to entice him into dancing with her. He gently dislodged her with an apologizing smile and managed to take two steps before another one tried to pull him closer. He looked down at her and pulled her hands off with a charming grin. She pouted a little, but let him go. After her came another one, then another one and yet another one. He smiled down in apology at each and every one of them. When he looked up again, both men were looking at him, the older with contempt, the younger with wide eyes. He looked a bit like he wanted to bolt. He looked even younger with his eyes all wide like that.

“Gentlemen,” he said by way of introduction once he was close enough to be heard over the music. “Rossi's here too. C'mon, let's get this over with. You both look like you'd rather be anywhere but here.”

He didn't offer them his hand, and neither did they. He led them back towards the bar where an electronic cash-card changed hands. Rossi pushed the tiny card into a small machine, nodded and finished his drink. He turned to Morgan. “It'll be in the accounts. Don't forget that two of them were compromised.” Derek nodded and turned to leave, when he felt Rossi's hand on his arm. “Derek,” the older man said softly, throwing a look at the professor, “be careful. I don't trust this guy.”

“I know,” Morgan answered. “Neither do I. I'll be back in a couple of mecs, no worries.” Rossi nodded and let him go, looking satisfied with Morgan's answer. Derek turned back to his customers. He gestured towards the exit with his head. Rothschild and the kid preceded him out and as soon as they all got out on the street, he took a left turn and started walking. The two fell in step behind him. He led them through the darkest and creepiest backstreets he could find, just to rile them up a bit.

After a while, they started whispering to each other. He ignored them. He didn't care what they were saying behind his back. They had paid and he had a no-refund policy. They were just within sight of the warehouse where his ship was stationed, when he heard the kid raise his voice, obviously too worked up to make sure he wasn't heard anymore. “But professor!” he was saying, “It doesn't matter what his claims are, going at that speed is a physical impossibility. As much as I would like to believe in such a thing, there is no way we can return in time for the next school term, the laws of physics –”

Professor Creep cut him off, saying something too low for Morgan to catch. He didn't care to hear anyway. It wasn't the first time he heard someone point out that the speed of his ship was simply impossible. He didn't claim to know how it worked. He wasn't a scientist. The Aurora was just too awesome for the laws of physics to apply, obviously. Okay, so that didn't make any sense. But he'd stopped trying to understand how it worked a long time ago; he just knew that it _did_ , and that was good enough for him.

Obviously not for the two idiots behind him though. But he had better things to do than argue over it. They'd see soon enough. And shutting them up would feel so damn good. He started walking faster, impatient to stick the two scholars into their quarters. And then, he'd take Rossi's advice and it'd be just him, on the bridge, with music. 

It was still going to be a long, _long_ trip.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan gets used to Reid's quirkiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm not too sure about the pacing, but I think it's okay. Maybe._

* * *

** Chapter 02 **

As soon as he had his passengers all settled in, Morgan let himself flop into his control chair and started up the engines. He wasn't going to awaken the Aurora just yet, so he was going to fly manual on his way up into space. He didn't want to attract any attention from the local P-reps by going above the speed limit. Especially this close to Kaltek.

There was no trouble at all flying above the city and into the night air. All of this was pretty easy; he'd done it a million times before and he had no trouble avoiding the P-reps. He knew when there were the most of them, and when the bored officials would be more likely to cut their patrols short. Before too long, they were sailing way above the planet. Still a little too close for Morgan to feel comfortable going above the limit, but it was tempting. He had only had a couple of hours of sleep, and it was nearly the time when he usually woke up. The thought of just speeding away to some quiet corner of space so he could lie down for a couple hours seemed more and more enticing.

He heard the door open behind him and he turned his head, not entirely happy at the thought of having one of his two weird passengers intrude in on his personal space. The kid peeked in. When he noticed Morgan sitting at the controls, he faltered slightly. “Oh,” he said, “I'm sorry, I, I didn't mean to intrude. I was merely curious, I've never had the chance to travel off-planet before.”

“S'all right, Kid,” Morgan lied. “I didn't expect you to still be up. What time is it anyway?”

The kid – Reid, Morgan reminded himself; some-weird-first-name Reid – looked at his wrist where an old-fashioned wristwatch hung loosely, “Assuming you mean the time it is now down at our departure site, then it is currently five thirty-three in the morning.”

Morgan blinked. “Huh,” he said, as nothing else came to mind. He was too surprised that Reid had answered his rhetorical question, and slightly uncomfortable with the kid's weird speech pattern. He wondered briefly if all of the graduates from the University spoke like him. He hadn't encountered too many of his kind, so he wasn't sure. And who even wore wristwatches anymore?

Reid stood there, blocking the door, preventing it from closing. He was looking all around the cockpit, eyes taking in all of the controls and panels. Morgan had no choice but to leave him to it. He regretted having lied to the kid now. He kind of wished he would leave. He navigated for a while, but once they had left the planet's gravity and all of the space junk behind, there wasn't much to do at all. He just had to set his course and slow down the ship so that he had time to wake up and react if anything came their way. It wouldn't do to just go to bed only to end up pulverized by an asteroid. Satisfied that he wouldn't have any surprise upon awakening from his nap, Morgan pushed himself up and turned around. The kid was still standing there, gawking. He was just so, so strange. Derek had no idea how to deal with him. At all. “Uh, Kid,” he said after a moment, “it's not that I'm not happy to see you like the ship and all, but I'd kind of like to take a nap.”

“Of course,” Reid said. And didn't move.

Morgan waited for him to catch the hint. And waited.

“Reid,” he spoke the name uncertainly, unsure that he remembered right. When the younger man turned his head in his direction, he said, “You're blocking the only doorway. I'm not going to sleep in the cockpit.”

“Oh,” Reid shifted uncomfortably, “I'm sorry, I didn't realize...”

“S'all right,” Morgan said with a chuckle, “no harm done. You should try and catch some Zs too. Innit past your bedtime by now?”

Reid gave him an awkward half-shrug. Morgan walked closer and the kid turned and started heading down the hallway. Morgan's room was the one closest to the cockpit and he flicked his fingers over the panel that would open his door. Just as it slid open, he heard a soft, “Good night, ah...”

“Morgan,” he replied, turning to find Reid in front of his own quarters, looking at something in the general vicinity of his shoes. “Name's Morgan.”

“I know,” Reid said, “I just wasn't sure which name you felt more comfortable using. Some people view the use of first names as entirely too personal for new acquaintances, while others find the use of family names to be voluntarily distancing themselves from people they would rather just not know better. I just wanted to be certain not to offend you. Good night, Morgan.” With that, he opened his own door and disappeared inside his room. Morgan stared after him for a moment, then shook his head. Okay, Rothschild might be a total creep but this Reid kid? He was just weird. Like, wacko weird, only in a totally harmless way.

The nap was most welcome, and he woke up feeling refreshed. He hit the exercise room first, then the shower. Next stop was the lounge and kitchen area where he had coffee and breakfast. Professor Creep came in as Morgan was leaving and he nodded in greeting but didn't initiate a conversation. He much preferred to be left alone in his control room. Hopefully the kid wouldn't try to come back in. Just to make sure, he locked the door. That done, he went to sit at the controls, put on his favourite musical playlist and checked their positions. Well, they ought to be far enough from anyone to speed things up a bit. He set it up so the speed would be gradual, so that the effect of the increased speed wouldn't be detectable by the passengers. He didn't want the guests he had aboard to know the inner workings of his ship. He wasn't usually so cautious, but if someone like Rothschild had heard of the Aurora because of his carelessness, it was a mistake he wasn't going to repeat. By mid-morning, he awakened the Sleeping Beauty and pushed his baby beyond the laws of physics. And it felt good. A bit like shutting up the kid who had that protested this speed would be completely impossible. Okay, so he wouldn't actually _know_ that Morgan and the Aurora had proven him wrong, but it was the principle of the thing.

It was smooth flying. Around noon, he started getting hungry so he gradually slowed the ship down to the speed he reserved for when he wasn't sitting at the controls. Nothing in space ever stayed in place, so it was just a matter of going slow enough that you had time to react to things coming your way. Things that, generally speaking, would also be moving slowly. He checked their coordinates, flicked the quick menu option that said he was stepping away from the controls, and went in search of sustenance.

He strode into the kitchen and walked over his cooler, wondering what he was going to eat for lunch. A quick survey of the contents and he selected one of the many pre-packaged full meals, which he brought over to his oven. He'd just placed the package inside, when a shuffling sound behind him made him turn around. His young passenger was walking into the room, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, loose sleeping pants and mismatched socks. His wavy hair was sticking in every direction and his eyes were barely even open. He had clearly just rolled out of bed. At lunchtime.

“Werza coffee?” the kid mumbled.

The one word that Morgan did understand was enough, and he pointed towards the coffee machine. “You could've just set it up from the hand-held in your room, you know.”

“Dunno how i'works,” was his reply, and he had to blink a few times, certain he had heard that one wrong. Kid was a genius and didn't know how to use a hand-held?! Who didn't use those anymore? Even his grandmother swore by hers, and she was 93.

The kid was at the coffee machine, but he was just staring at it from the one eye he had half-open. Morgan observed him for a bit, then he finally moved closer. “Just go sit at the table, I'll start it up for you. How many sugars?”

“Two,” the kid began, making his way to the table, but then he changed his mind, “No, wait. Six.”

Morgan lifted an eyebrow but selected the six teaspoons of sugar. “Cream?”

“Three,” came the muffled response. The kid was sitting across from Morgan's preferred seat, his head on the table, pillowed on one elbow while his other arm was stretched out before him. Across the table. Over to Derek's usual spot.

Morgan selected the right amount of cream, then moved over to the oven to finally start heating up his meal. While it cooked, he leaned against the counter, observing the younger man. Odd didn't even begin to describe him. Morgan hadn't met many of those from more privileged backgrounds who could afford a higher education, but he was pretty sure that even for them, this kid was just weird. A soft beep, and he turned back to the oven to retrieve his food. He carried it over to the table and stood awkwardly, kind of wanting to ask the boy to move so he could sit at his usual place.

“Uh, Kid...” he said tentatively, but that elicited no response whatsoever. He felt kind of silly and childish, wanting his personal spot, so after a moment, he moved one chair over and sat down. The boy didn't stir. It wasn't until the smell of coffee started permeating the air, that the kid finally came alive. There was no other word for it. He suddenly jerked and straightened up in his seat, blinking blearily around until his gaze zeroed in on the coffee machine.

Morgan couldn't stifle an amused snort as Reid got up and went to collect his mug from the machine, a desperate look in his eyes. He didn't even wait to get back to the table to take his first sip, but took it standing up right where he was. He inhaled first and gave a satisfied sigh, then brought the mug to his lips. A moment later, he jerked. “Ow, ah, ow! Burned my tongue!”

“Careful,” Morgan couldn't help but tease him a little. “It's hot. It's, you know, coffee.”

Reid sent him a look over the rim of his mug. He kept it in front of him, like the very scent of it would be enough to wake him up, but he didn't attempt to drink it again just yet. Morgan stole glances at him while he ate, unsure what to think of his younger customer. On the one hand, he was travelling with Mister Oily, so he didn't really trust him. But there was something strangely endearing about the guy. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about him.

Reid finally came back to sit at the table and placed his mug down carefully. Then he just sort of sat there like a zombie. Soon afterwards, Rothschild came in. Morgan went back to his food. He suddenly didn't feel like talking much, anymore. The Professor started preparing a meal for himself, and Derek just finished his before the man could sit at the table. He cleaned up quickly and retreated back to his cockpit. He didn't lock the door this time.

After that, it became a sort of routine between them. Around noon, Morgan would go to the kitchen to prepare lunch and make coffee for Reid. He set the machine so the kid could just flick one button and he'd have a cup prepared exactly as he liked it. It was clear pretty soon that just one mugful wasn't enough to wake him up, so by setting it up this way, he was sure the kid could have however many cups he required without having to fight with the machine. Around five minutes after Derek, Reid would wander into the main room, grab his mug and drink it at the table as Morgan ate. Then, a half hour later, Rothschild would come in and Morgan would leave. They didn't talk much, but when he was with Reid, the silence was comfortable, somehow. Reid didn't come into the cockpit again.

Nearly a week into their travel, Morgan went to get lunch and was surprised to find Reid already at the table, awake and alert. He had a cup of coffee in his hand, but it was clear that it wasn't his first. “Good morning, Morgan,” the younger man said in greeting.

“Mornin', sleepyhead,” Morgan replied with a grin. “You know it's not exactly morning anymore, right?”

Reid shrugged, “I tend to be more nocturnal than the majority of people.”

“Yeah, I noticed,” Morgan said. He didn't know why, but he kind of felt like ruffling the kid's unruly hair. He didn't. “And you sure love your coffee.”

That seemed to be the right thing to say, because Reid's face lit up. “Did you know that coffee was first discovered on the African continent of Earth and has been used as a stimulating beverage as early as the 9th century PSA? Which was then called AD, that is Anno Domini, meaning 'the year of our Lord' in medieval Latin. You see, at the time, most of the European continent followed a religion that followed the teaching of a man that they believed was an incarnation of their god, whom they called simply their Lord, and the era that we now refer as Pre-Space Age was calculated from the approximate year of his birth. Actually, some denomination of the religion banned coffee because it was originally used in religious ceremonies of different local religions. The first reliable mention of coffee dates from the 15th century however and the first coffee house opened in 1554 PSA, in the city of Constantinople.”

When he paused for breath, Morgan said, “You do know I won't remember any of this tomorrow, right?”

Reid blinked at him and opened his mouth to say something, but right then, Professor Rothschild walked in and Morgan quickly made his exit, his head swimming with thoughts of old cities he had previously never even heard of, coffee, and some weird Pre-Space Age religion. He remembered Rossi telling him the kid was some sort of genius and he couldn't help but wonder how he could retain all of this information in the first place.

He had just started increasing the speed of their craft, when the door behind slid open. He half turned, though he was pretty sure the person behind him would be Reid. He gave him a slight wave, then pointed to the seat next to him. That earned him a closed-mouth smile, something that looked both happy and embarrassed at the same time. Reid slid into the seat and peered curiously at all the controls. “I'm sorry about earlier,” he said after a moment. “I know I tend to ramble a lot. I just get a little excited about things.”

“It's all right, Kid,” Morgan said, sending him a smile to show he meant it, before returning to his control panel. After a moment, he added, “I don't mind the whole speech thing, I just know I won't remember any of it. I'm amazed you can even know all that stuff.”

“It's called eidetic memory,” Reid replied. “For me, it applies to things I read. It basically means that whatever I read is imprinted in my brain forever.”

Morgan threw him a look. “That sounds like something that'd be really useful to a scholar.”

Reid nodded, but he didn't say anything for a long time, merely looking forward at the wide empty space in front of them. Once it was clear to him that Morgan didn't mind his presence, he excused himself for a moment and went to get a bag from his room, and slid down into the co-pilot's chair once more. From his bag, he took out an old-type reading pad, the kind that was rigid and didn't roll in on itself like the newer ones. It probably didn't even feature eye-tracking technology. He started reading. Morgan couldn't keep up with the words flying on the screen, but Reid seemed to be able to, his lips moving silently as he read. The afternoon passed quietly.

This was added to their routine. For the second week of the trip, they'd meet in the kitchen area, have lunch and coffee together, then Reid would sit next to him in the cockpit and read. Morgan found that he didn't mind his presence at all. It was rather nice, really. He had no idea what Rothschild was doing, and frankly, he didn't care. Sometimes, the younger man would tell him about the things he read, and Morgan's mind was nearly spinning from all the information. He ended up learning about tons of things he had never thought he would care to know about. It should have made him feel kind of stupid, but Reid was so unassuming in his manners and didn't treat him like an idiot, so he was somehow fine with it.

At the end of the second week, they were nearing a supply space station and Morgan knew he'd have to stop by to buy food and fuel to last until the next one. When they got there, however, they had to wait to dock, which was unusual in this out of the way station that was never near capacity. But unusual or not, he needed to refuel, and he wasn't carrying anything illegal, so everything was under control. Or so he thought.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aurora crashes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Action-packed chapter._

* * *

  **Chapter 03 **  


Morgan decreased the speed of his craft as he neared the station. Reid looked up from his ancient-looking reading pad (seriously, when had the kid bought this thing, a century ago?) and peered at the station that was soon filling the front screen. “Is that the refuelling station?” he enquired curiously. “What are those things all around it? Other crafts?”

“Yeah,” Morgan answered as he slid his finger down on the speed panel, further slowing down the Aurora. “This could be a bit of a wait. There aren't that many spaceships here, usually.” That was precisely why he liked this station. It was slightly away from the main routes and generally quiet. He had never seen this many crafts before.

Morgan eyed the ships warily. Reid lowered his pad and straightened up in his seat, frowning slightly. His eyes scanning the station quickly, “Twenty-three crafts, most of them bayonet and blunderbuss one-seater types.” He frowned. “That does seem a bit unusual.” He motioned towards the advertisement painted in bright, bold letters on the side of the station. “It says there's only ten docking stations.”

“And they're usually empty,” Morgan agreed with the young doctor. “I don't know what's going on but I –” He paused, scowling. The crafts docked at the station and the ones circling it were moving. Each and every one of them. They were slowly turning and manoeuvring. They all had one destination: the Aurora. “Okay, here comes trouble,” he commented drily.

He tried to shift the engines so that they'd slow down, but the other crafts were already starting to surround them. That left only one escape route: towards the planet around which the station orbited. No one would be insane enough to execute crazy stunts close enough to a planet to get sucked into its gravitational pull. No one but Morgan, that was. He veered sharply in that direction. Reid placed his pad in his bag and gripped the armrests tightly. Morgan looked at the screens that showed the side and back views and saw that the other ships were quickly tightening the semi-sphere they had around him, but no one was foolhardy enough to try and block their escape route. For a moment, he thought he saw an opening to the bottom-port side and he made a move to go through, but it was cut off.

“Damn it,” Morgan muttered, teeth clenched in frustration. There was no way to go but towards the planet again. The door to the cockpit slid open, but he didn't have time to turn around. He certainly didn't want to deal with Rothschild invading his control deck, but he'd have to deal with him later. “Not now,” he said without turning around, and tried to slip through another hole in the ranks of his pursuers, but that attempt was foiled too. “Damn it!”

“Swearing won't help you,” the professor said lightly.

“Rothschild, I don't have time for that kind of crap right now. So please, just go back to your cabin.”

“Oh, I think you'll make the time,” the man said, his voice even more smarmy than usual.

Morgan mentally cursed and flicked his eyes behind him to where the professor was standing. He was holding a gun. Great. He knew that the man was up to no good, but he expected something along the lines of defaulted payments or maybe P-reps waiting for him near Bennington. Not a whole damn armada of ships attacking his. “Professor?!” Reid pushed up from his seat, sounding shocked. At least the kid wasn't in on it. That made Morgan feel a little better. “Professor, what are you doing?!”

“Sit down, Doctor Reid,” Rothschild ordered in a deceptively sweet voice, making it sound like a suggestion when it really wasn't.

Morgan used the few seconds that the man's attention was on the kid and ran his fingers over the controls as fast as he could make them. He increased the speed, tapped the automatic guidance system, engaged the emergency protocol. The ship bounded forward, throwing Rothschild off-balance. Morgan grabbed Reid's hand and pulled him up. He cursed as the young man took the time to grab his bag. But he didn't have time to argue, so he just dragged Reid behind him as he raced down towards the escape pods. He'd nearly reached them when he heard, “Stop! Stop this instant!”

He pivoted towards the professor, pushing Reid behind him. “We're crashing, man.” Morgan wished he had taken the time to draw his own firearm. Or kick Rothschild in the balls. Either would have been fine with him. Not that he was one for unprovoked violence, but this was definitely provoked. “No one can stop it. We've entered the gravity field and we're low on fuel.” With the security protocol engaged, the ship would find somewhere safe to crash, but at this speed, they would die when it hit the ground. They needed to get out of there.

Rothschild brought his weapon up and then moved it so Reid was in his line of fire. “Stop the ship,” he ordered.

“Didn't you hear what I said?” Morgan tried to communicate the urgency of the situation, moving so his body again shielded Reid's. “We've entered the gravity field already. The ship doesn't have enough fuel to make it back out. The security program won't accept my commands, not before it's landed. We are all going to die if we don't get out. So I suggest you take one of the pods, and we'll take the other.” If it were up to him, he'd give Reid one and take the other. Rothschild could rot and die for all he cared. But he was ready to make this small concession if it made the man just get out of his face. And hell, he might not be completely squeaky-clean when it came to the law, but he wasn't a murderer.

The ship veered sharply and Rothschild was thrown sideways. Reid slammed painfully into him and Morgan grabbed him. He slapped his hand down on the panel that opened the door to the escape pod closest to them. He kept an eye on the professor as the three reinforced doors slid open one by one. He saw the man locate then raise his gun and he shoved Reid into the small shuttle. The young man fell awkwardly backwards onto the only seat. Morgan threw himself in, pivoting so his back was to Reid. Then he pushed the option that would close and lock all of the doors. He heard Reid grunt painfully behind him. Morgan wasn't exactly light, and the young doctor looked like a gentle breeze would bowl him over. It had to have knocked the wind out of him. But Morgan didn't really have the time to apologize. He quickly fastened the protective seat-belt and checked his instruments.

“Damn,” he said after a moment, “we're going way too fast!” The computer screen showed numbers flying up in long columns of possible ejection countdowns. It couldn't calculate the timing for the pod to have enough deceleration to open the parachutes early enough so that they wouldn't die on impact.

“Let me see,” Reid tried to wriggle higher so he could peer over Morgan's shoulder. He saw the computer screen, then tried to glance through the hatch's reinforced glass window.

“Kid,” Morgan growled, “now is _really_ not a good time for curiosity. We could die here! What are you doing?!”

Reid had undone the seat-belt and was trying to lean forward, pushing against Morgan's back. “Let me see,” he insisted. “I may be able to calculate the trajectory of the pod through the angle of decent and speed of the craft.”

“That's nuts,” Morgan informed him sharply. “There's no way you can do that faster than the computer! You'll kill us both!”

“Trust me,” Reid urged, “it's simple trigonometry! I can do it!” Morgan threw him a look, but it wasn't like he had a whole lot of other options. He moved out of the way as much as he could, which wasn't much at all. Reid straightened himself up a bit and re-clipped the seat-belt, but left it loose enough that he could look out the windows. Morgan kept a look on the screen where the computer was still trying to calculate the timing for ejection. Reid's hand tightened over his shoulder. “Now,” he yelled, “eject now!”

Morgan hesitated a split-second, then pulled the lever that would force the ejection, by-passing the computer. The shuttle gave a jarring jolt and he heard Reid mutter, “Ow!” and then they were falling, away from his precious Aurora. He tightened the belt in anticipation of the landing since it promised to be a really rough one. Reassured that he had minimized the probable damage as much as was possible, he pulled up the information the computer had on the planet. He started reading through all of the information, even though there was no way he could remember all of this. Reid might be able to, but he was crammed behind him and couldn't see the the screen well enough to read.

New Nevada was one of the hottest inhabitable planets in the galaxy, and very few crops grew there, making it a rather unpopular to tourists and settlers alike. The only thing making the planet worth colonizing at all was the rich minerals, such as gold and precious stones, in its outer crust. Which made most people living on it miners, obviously. He quickly scrolled down through the information he didn't care for, like the annual rainfall in different places, population growth and a whole lot of other things that he didn't give a damn about.

“How many parachutes does this escape pod have?” Reid asked, after some time.

“Three,” Morgan said and selected a small town he knew from the list of settlements.

“Deploy the first one,” Reid said and pushed urgently against him.

“Stop pushing,” Morgan said and selected the option on a menu panel that would open the first parachute. Another sickening jolt, and they decelerated enough that the computer managed to take over. To Morgan's utter amazement, the kid had timed things right. They were still too fast, but it was a crash that was both possible to survive _and_ wouldn't cause grave injuries. “Well, damn,” he said, astounded in spite of himself. “I don't know how you managed that, kid, but you were right.”

“I told you,” Reid replied after he was done clawing at the sides of the craft in panic, “simple trigonometry.”

Morgan asked, “This photographic memory of yours –”

“Eidetic,” Reid corrected immediately.

“Eidetic,” Morgan repeated impatiently. “Is there any way it could help you remember numbers if you can't actually see them?”

“If I visualize them in my head, yeah,” the young doctor answered.

“Good,” Morgan looked at the computer screen and read, “Thirty-one degrees, thirty-six minutes, twenty-nine point five seconds north. Two degrees, thirteen minutes, twelve seconds west.”

“Okay,” Reid said. “What is at those coordinates?”

“Town where I might know some one who would be willing to help. Maybe. Never met her face to face.”

“Um,” Reid said uncertainly, “are you sure –”

“I'm not,” Morgan interrupted. “But we don't have too many options here, kid. A possible ally is better than none at all. Now, focus, I need your head for this.” He felt rather than saw Reid nod. “Thirty-three degrees, thirty-two minutes, fifty-nine seconds north. Zero degrees, seventeen minutes, zero-point-three seconds east. You got all that?”

“Yeah,” Reid assured him.

Morgan nodded, reassured that he could turn off all of the computers as soon as the last parachutes opened. Hopefully, that would stop whoever was following them from being able to track exactly where they landed. They might already anticipate where the pod would crash, but in case they didn't, Morgan wasn't going to make it easy for them. He turned his head to glance at Reid. “Things're gonna get real bumpy so don't bite your tongue. I suggest you shut up.” Reid nodded and pushed himself back into the seat. Morgan braced himself as best he could. The computer took over and deployed the last two parachutes. Reid's chin hit his shoulder painfully and he grunted in pain while the younger man whimpered. The fall seemed to take forever. Like Morgan had predicted, they were jarred this way and that. As soon as Morgan was able to reach out, he turned off the computer entirely.

Finally, the small shuttle hit something and was sent careening up into the air for a few moments. Then they hit it again from another side and up was down and then up again. Another lurch and they finally came to a stop. Morgan took a moment to regain his bearings. He heard a soft groan of pain behind him, and he undid the safety belt so he could move forward. “Reid? Kid, you okay?”

“I feel like I've been slammed repetitively against a concrete wall,” came the kid's voice behind his back. “I hurt all over.”

Morgan snorted, feeling a little sorry but mostly just amused. “All right, let's get outta here,” he said and pulled at the handle that would force the hatch to open. It didn't budge. “Oh, c'mon!” he grumbled at it and pulled harder.

“It's stuck?” Reid asked and Morgan only grunted in assent and pulled as hard as he could. He heard a metallic pop and suddenly, the hatch swung open. The handle he'd been pulling on snapped off and he was sent backwards into the younger man. “Ow,” he heard Reid complain, “that _hurt!_ ”

“Stop whinin', Doc,” Morgan said and heaved himself out. He found that the shuttle had half-buried itself into a sand dune. They seemed to be in the middle of a frikkin' desert. Great. He turned around and reached down into the escape pod, offering a hand to the young man. “At least we're still alive.”

Reid gave his hand a look and seemed about to refuse the help, but then, he just grabbed it and heaved himself up. He stood on the seat and looked around. “A desert?” he asked. “This could complicate our chances of survival.”

“Hey, no discouraging talk allowed,” Morgan said and pointed down to a side panel. “There should be some emergency supplies in there.” He hoped the food was still good. He hadn't had to look at the supplies since he'd put them there, a few years before. The young doctor crouched and pulled at the handle. The compartment swung open, revealing a bag that was about as big as Reid's torso. The young man managed to somehow get it up and high enough so Morgan could grab it, though his arms visibly shook with the effort. When Morgan took it from him, he expected it to be much heavier than it actually was. Okay, so the guy was crazy-smart and pathetically weak. That was kind of sad. He dropped the bag next to him and reached down into the little shuttle to offer Reid his hand again.

This time, the young man didn't hesitate. He retrieved his bag from the bottom of the shuttle and accepted the help up and out of the pod. “Tell me there's sunscreen in that bag,” he pleaded and Morgan's eyebrows arched slightly.

“You're kidding, right?” he asked.

Reid lifted one of his sleeves, showing the paleness of his skin, “I burn really easily.”

Okay, so he had a point. The guy was seriously white. “I'll see if I can find some, but I doubt I have any.” He knelt by the bag and unzipped it. He found food for about a dozen meals, which would make six for each of them. That wasn't much. Some water, but definitely not enough for more than a couple days. A self-building thermal-resistant tent and a first aid kit. And, he told Reid, “No sunscreen.”

“I'm going to fry,” Reid said, then shrugged. “Unless we travel at night.”

“Depends how cold it gets,” Morgan replied, then he closed the bag again and slung it over his shoulders. He didn't want to stay too close to the shuttle, just in case the men responsible for their predicament got an approximate of their landing coordinates before he shut down the computer. “Let's go.”

Reid nodded, then put his hand up to shield his eyes as he looked around slowly. “Which way are we going though?”

“Well,” Morgan glanced around. Sand, sand and more sand. “We have to head to the south-west but I've no idea which way that is. So I guess we just pick one direction and stick with it for now.” He did have land navigating equipment, but he wouldn't risk turning it on, in case whoever knocked them out of the sky had sensors trained on their landing area. He glanced at the sun, which was rather low on the horizon.

“Okay,” Reid said. Following his line of sight he asked, “Do you know if it's morning or evening?”

Morgan shook his head. “Not a clue. At least we won't have to wait too long to find out.” And as soon as they knew what part of the day this was, they would be able to direct themselves using the sun.

Reid nodded and looked down at his shadow. His eyebrows went down a fraction, giving him a thoughtful look. “All right,” he said after a moment and turned to Morgan. “I'm going to drive myself insane trying to figure out which way is west with too little information to make so much as an educated guess. So just pick a direction and I'll follow.”

Morgan let out an amused snort. He shrugged and started walking, uphill towards the high ridge of the sand dune. He kind of hoped that a higher vantage point would show more than just desert as far as the eye could see, and he was rewarded for his efforts in the form of tall rocky spires that had previously been hidden from sight. They didn't look too far. At least in there they could walk some distance without being constantly slowed down by all the sand, and there would be less chance of getting buried under a dune if there was a sandstorm. “I say we go that way,” he said, and turned to his left, then his right. “Reid?”

“Over here!”

He looked down to where the young man was struggling, trying to walk up to him and failing rather miserably. In that moment, Morgan would have given anything to have a travelling companion that was of average intelligence, if it meant he'd be of average physical strength, too. Or better yet, some pretty girl who could hold her own. Anyone but this weird kid. Only, if it weren't for the weird kid, he'd be in little bits all over the surface of the planet now. He sighed. “C'mon,” he said and reached down to pull Reid until the young man was standing next to him. Then he indicated the rocky terrain they could see a little further on. “What do you think?”

Reid eyed the terrain and nodded, still too out of breath to say anything but, “That way's fine.”

Morgan grinned and clapped him on the shoulder, nearly sending him falling forward. “All right then, kid. Hope you're in good shape,” he grinned at Reid's amused snort, “cause we've got some ways to go. Let's go!”

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan finally meets the Queen face-to-face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I know Morgan is ogling a girl and yes, it's still a Morgan/Reid fic. I just like my charries straight until they run into one person who bends them. It's happening. Morgan just doesn't know it yet._

* * *

**Chapter 04 **

The tall rock cliffs and column that they were walking through made Morgan feel much less exposed. Once they had been safely hidden from any possible prying eyes, Reid had stopped them and done something weird with water, a magnet and a needle and then had pointed out where the 'magnetic west' was. Turned out it was evening. After that, it was rather easy to walk more or less in the right direction. Morgan had sort of expected Reid to slow him down tremendously, and he did a little, but not all that much. He ploughed on with a sort of quiet determination that impressed Morgan. It showed that the kid wasn't used to physical exertion, but he never once complained, and he had this comical expression on his face that was sort of halfway between obstinate and exhausted. Morgan kept an eye on him, and when it looked like he was about to collapse, he called for a break.

Reid sat down heavily right where he stood, legs crossed under him. Then he blankly stared at a point in front of him. Morgan deposited the bag of supplies on the ground. “You hungry?” he asked the younger man. He figured it was around dinner time according to their schedule so far, and he knew that starving or dying of thirst while hoarding available food and water was a common mistake people made in the desert. But he didn't want to eat too much either, so he thought sharing a meal would be fine for now. Reid nodded vaguely, blinked, and then fixed his eyes on Morgan before nodding again. He looked a little more focused now. Derek grinned and crouched down. He got one of the meal-boxes out and set it on the battery-powered heater. It didn't take very long until the food started smelling rather appetizing, in spite of it being crappy emergency rations. They had to sit uncomfortably close as they ate, and the younger man kept shifting nervously.

When they were done eating, Reid turned to him. “Thank you,” he began, then lifted his eyes to Morgan's and he froze for a split second. He blinked, and his eyebrows lowered just a fraction in a thoughtful frown as he scooted to a more comfortable distance.

Morgan picked up the container and got up. “No problem, Kid.” He ruffled his hair and grinned. Reid looked less like he was about to pass out, so eating had been a good call. “Now I want to keep walking for a while, in case it gets too cold at night and we're forced to stop. Can you do it?” Reid nodded and pushed himself up to his feet, pushing his hair back behind his ears. Morgan set the container to self-destruct and picked up the bag, heaving it once more over his shoulders. They started walking and Morgan kept the pace just fast enough to be pushing Reid a bit, without it being so fast that the young doctor fell behind. He pressed on for a few hours, but it was soon obvious to him that Reid needed his rest. He figured he could use a nap, too, so he called for a halt. Soon, they were in the thermal tent and Derek let sleep claim him for a couple hours.

When he opened his eyes, it was still dark outside. He wasn't sure how long he had slept, but there was no way to know the time without turning his land navigation mini-computer on, and he wasn't ready to risk it yet, not when the signal would come so close to where the pod had crashed. He put his boots back on and stepped out of the tent. The temperature had dropped significantly, but it wasn't unbearable. He went back in to wake Reid. That turned out to be more difficult than he had anticipated. Calling his name had no effect. Shaking his shoulder just made him turn over, murmuring incomprehensibly. Patting his cheek made the kid just bat at his hand with an annoyed groan. Morgan didn't know if he should feel annoyed or amused. In the end, he settled for a little of both. He grabbed both of Reid's wrists and pulled until he had the doctor in a seated position. “Reid. Reid, wake up, man.” Reid's eyelids flickered. _Finally_ _!_ He blinked a few times, looking confused and sleepy. Actually, Derek wasn't even sure he was awake, yet.

“Morgan?” Reid tried to focus his eyes on the older man. “Coffee...”

“Sorry, Kid,” Morgan said and let go of his wrists to ruffle his hair. “No can do. You'll have to go without for a couple of days. Then, hopefully, we can find civilization. I promise the first thing we'll do then is get you the largest cup of coffee they have. Sound good?” Reid tilted his head, seemingly thinking it through. Then, finally, he nodded. Morgan grinned. “All right, then we need to get going so we get there faster.” Reid put his shoes on and clambered to his feet. He followed Morgan out of the tent and the older man pulled the string that would make the flimsy construct fold on itself so he could stuff it back into his bag. With that done, they started walking.

When the sky started getting lighter, they stopped and shared another meal. Reid was fidgety the entire time, and Morgan resisted the urge to tell him to chill. He figured the kid just wasn't used to physical proximity. But, judging by how often he pressed against his temples with the tips of his fingers, he might just be suffering through caffeine withdrawal. After their meal, they pushed on and walked until the sun started beating on their back. Morgan felt like he was going to fry. Reid walked with his arms folded in front of his chest to keep them away from the sun. Morgan called for another halt. They crawled into the tent and slept until evening. Morgan had to fight with the young doctor to get him to wake up again.

They ate, and walked through the evening and most of the night. When it started getting too cold, Morgan got the tent out and they had another nap. When he awoke, he let Reid sleep a little longer and finally took out his land navigation tool. He powered it on and checked their position. They had made good progress but were a bit too much to the north to where he was hoping to be. He checked the topography of the terrain between where they were and the settlement he was aiming for. They should be able to make it before they ran out of food and water. Good.

He turned the machine off and started the long process of waking Reid up. A little while later, they were on their feet and walking south-south-west. They stopped mid-morning and had a decent meal, Morgan figuring they needed the energy now and they were likely to reach civilization before they ran out of food. They ploughed on, and stopped again when the sun got too hot. By nightfall, they were walking again. Morgan used his land navigation tool occasionally to correct their direction, but he kept it turned off as much as possible. They stopped again when it got too cold, took a short nap and then they were walking again. When they stopped again to avoid the heat of the sun, Morgan checked their position and saw they were only a couple of hours away from the small town. They were down to two meal-boxes, so he had been starting to worry. But they would be fine, now.

They ended up having to wander into the sand dunes again, so in the end, it took another four hours of walk to get them to their destination. Dusk was falling and Reid looked about to collapse from exhaustion. Morgan let him rest a bit just outside the settlement as he ventured in. From what he had gathered, people who lived here were pretty rough, having to fight with their planet for every little scrap of food, drop of water and bit of money they got. Reid would just stick out like a sore thumb.

There was only one bar, across the street from what looked to be a theatre. Music was coming out of both buildings, but Morgan figured he'd have more luck in the bar. He pulled the door open and the music got exponentially louder, to the point of being nearly painful. With a wince, he strode in. There were so many patrons, Morgan was ready to bet the entire population of the village was there. Then again, there didn't seem to be very many distractions around. Many of them were looking at him, so he nodded a hello and sauntered over to the bar. He leaned against it, looking for the menu-screen. There wasn't one. The bartender stopped in front of him. “What can I get ya?” he asked, not quite unfriendly but definitely guarded.

“Your best ale,” Morgan said and presented a tiny electronic card like the one Rothschild had given Rossi. “You take money-chips?” The barman nodded and handed him the machine. Morgan slid the card in and the man went to get his drink. When he set it down in front of him, Morgan said, “I'm looking for the Queen.”

He saw the man's fingers twitch around the glass. Morgan thought he might take it away, but he let go and said, “I don't know who you're talking about.”

“I think you do,” Morgan said and took a sip. “She sent messages looking for knights and here I am.”

The man gave him the once-over, but looked a little more friendly. Morgan was glad he'd remembered the line right. “You probably mean Penny,” the bartender said. “She's in the theatre across the street. You'll have to tell them a knight's reporting for duty.”

Morgan nodded. “Knight reporting for duty,” he repeated. “Got it.”

“The show's about to end,” a man sitting close-by told Derek. “You got time to finish your beer.”

“Thanks,” Morgan said and took his advice. He sipped at his drink slowly and contentedly. He wasn't an habitual drinker, but there was something about a nice, cool glass of ale after the hot, arid stillness of the desert that made this one the best he'd ever had. When he was done with it, he took his card from the machine and raised his fingers in farewell to both the bartender and the patron who had helped him. He wondered about checking in on Reid, but he figured that he should find out whether he'd get help here or they'd have to camp outside. He went over to the theatre instead. It was relatively quiet now so he opened the door cautiously. Inside, it was dark and much smaller than he had expected. There was a stage, where he supposed there were some occasional plays. Instead of seats, the place had couches and lounge chairs. It looked like it would only sit about a dozen people or so. Probably not plays, then.

There was no one around, but there was a side door that most likely led deeper into the building, and that's where Morgan headed. On the other side of the door, there was a dark hallway, at the end of which was a man reclining in a chair with a reading pad. “We're full,” he told Morgan without looking up.

“Knight reporting for duty,” Morgan told him, and that made the man look up.

There was a beat of silence that made Derek wonder if he'd misremembered the phrase. The man gave him a slow, a very slow, once-over. Then he stuck his thumb towards the door he was sitting next to. “Take a right and go down the stairs. End of the hall.”

Morgan nodded and went through the door. He had stepped into a hallway that went left and right, with lots of closed doors, evenly spaced. Snippets of conversation and music came to him. He went as directed. In the basement, at the end of the hall, there was a young woman, sitting at a small desk, typing on an ancient-looking computer. She was petite and pretty and had an amazing smile and an even more amazing cleavage. He repeated the phrase to her, too. There, he had to leave his name, occupation and where he had hailed from. He used an alias that the Queen knew. Then, he had to wait a short while, that he spent admiring the hot little number in front of him without being too obvious about it. Finally, the woman got up. “The Queen will see you now,” she said with another one of those gorgeous smiles. She walked around her desk and unlocked the door. “This way, please.”

She led him into a dark room that was full of computer parts, toys, animated holocubes and screens. Morgan blinked, looking all around in wonder. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but this wasn't it.

“What is this?” he heard and recognized the voice right away. “My Chocolate God has finally deigned to show his face?”

“Hey, Baby Girl,” he walked over to the tall-backed chair where the voice had come from, ignoring the secretary's surprised gasp. “You knew I wouldn't be able to resist coming to say hello in person eventually.”

The chair swivelled and there was Penelope Garcia, in the flesh, looking at him with a teasing grin that he couldn't help reciprocating. “And I suppose this has nothing to do with the ship they saw fly low over the Andolene Plains a couple days ago.”

“Yeah, well,” Morgan said with a wince, “I was ambushed by the station. Rogue passenger aboard to boot.”

“Poor baby,” she laughed. “I'd feel sorry for you, but it's about damn time you come for a visit.”

“Yeah, sorry. You know how that is.”

“Well, I'd agree with you, Hot Muffin, but truth is that with the Aurora, you have no excuse.” Morgan threw a look at the secretary next to them. “Don't worry about her,” Garcia said. “Jordan knows how to mind her own business. Leave us, sweetie. I swear he's not dangerous. I've been talking to him for years.”

The pretty secretary nodded and excused herself from the room. Once the door was closed once more, Morgan grinned. “I knew you'd recognize the alias. I didn't know who to trust, especially after what happened up there. I kind of need your help.”

“Ah,” Garcia said with a smile, “that is music to my ears. Do go on.”

“Had to let the Aurora auto-pilot to a safe crash place where it wouldn't get too much damage. Which means it's either buried in sand or under an ocean somewhere. I gotta get back to it and refuel so we can get back into space.”

“Won't be easy,” Garcia remarked.

“I know, Mama, I know. Can you help?”

“I'll have to think of something. You should sleep here tonight while I think on how to get your hot ass back up in space. You look like you could use a shower.”

“Pretty desperate for one,” he agreed. “But I left the kid out just outside in the desert. He'd look too out of place in town. I need to go and get him.”

“Jordan will see you out,” she said. “Tell her to get some Touareg clothes to hide him in. Maybe some for you to wear on your way back into town, too. You know, in case whoever clipped your wings put an ad for information on your whereabouts. I'll sift through all the communications around New Nevada to see if I can dig up who attacked you and what they know.”

“You're the best, Angelfish,” Morgan said and on a whim, he kissed the top of her head.

She grinned. “Oh, you've yet to see just how true that is. Now off with you. I have work to do.” She half-turned and typed something onto her computer.

He bowed playfully. “Yes, your Highness.”

The door opened and the hot secretary was standing there, waiting as Derek made his way over to her. She closed the door behind them and led him back to the stairwell and back up. She opened one of the doors that Morgan had ignored on his way to Garcia's lair. Inside were rows and rows of clothes and costumes of all sorts. He followed Jordan in and was led to one particular row where there were clothes that seemed meant to be loose-fitting. The fabric was airy and the colours pale, mostly off-white, beige, washed out sky-blue and gold. “Here,” she said. “This is what the nomads who live out in the desert wear.”

“Thanks, Jordan.” He gave her his most charming grin, which made her eyebrows arch up a bit. “Here, how about this blue one?”

She looked at the garment he had pulled at random. “I hope that's not for you,” she commented. “Here, you should go for this one.” Morgan grabbed both outfits with their respective head-gears, then followed her back out. She led him to the other hallway where the man was still reading on his pad. “Lynch,” she said and he sat up, “this guy's Penny's friend. He'll be back with someone else, and both will be wearing Touareg clothes. Let them through all right?”

“Yeah, sure.” He eyed Morgan for a moment then attempted a little smile. “I guess I'll see you in a few.”

Morgan nodded and headed out. He trekked back to where he'd left Reid, and found his tent instead. “Reid?” he called softly. “It's me.”

“Hey Morgan,” he heard, and he couldn't help the grin that pulled at his lips.

He opened the door and poked his head in. “How do you feel about a decent meal and a real bed for the night?”

“And coffee?” Reid wanted to know.

Morgan laughed. “I didn't ask, but I'm sure they'll have some. I brought you a disguise to sneak in.” He threw the light blue outfit at the young doctor. “Put this on. We're going as desert nomads.”

Reid managed to catch the head-wear and absolutely nothing else. “This is mine?” he asked, frowning at it.

“Yeah,” Morgan said with a shrug. “Hurry up, I need to change, too.”

Reid opened his mouth to say something, but then he just closed it and nodded. Morgan backed out and closed the door once more. He stomped his feet a little restlessly. The temperature was going down. He could have just gone in and changed at the same time, but Reid was so weird about so many things, he figured he would let him change alone. As soon as he heard Reid's soft, “Okay, done,” he went in. Reid was putting his shoes on. “Hold on, I'll get out of the tent in a minute,” he said.

“Nah.” Morgan shrugged. “It's getting pretty damn cold out. I don't really mind if you stay.” He changed quickly and as he buckled his belt, he noticed Reid looking in his direction. He arched his eyebrows at him.

Reid blinked at him twice, then suddenly seemed to realize the reason for the look. “Oh, I'm sorry,” he said, “I was lost in thoughts. I didn't mean to stare.”

Morgan laughed. “S'all right, Kid. You can read for another hour or so. Then we'll get going. If some people saw me walk out and then two people walk back in covered from head to toe, it won't be too subtle.” Reid nodded and frowned pensively, eyes on Morgan's beige tunic. Then he picked up his pad and went back to his reading. Morgan had half a mind to ask him what the look was for, then decided he didn't care. Not really. He flopped back onto his back, and, hands behind his head and let his thoughts wander.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is hatched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter came to me a lot easier than chapter 4 did._

* * *

**Chapter 05 **

They walked into town wearing their disguise, complete with the head-wear, goggles and cloth mask over the lower part of their faces, which was what the nomads who drove though the deserts of New Nevada used to protect themselves against the wind and sands when they were out on the dunes. Morgan headed straight for the theatre. They took off the goggles once indoors and Derek removed his mask too, but Reid kept his. Morgan nodded in greeting as Lynch opened the door for them. Then it was right and down the stairwell to the basement where Jordan was sitting at her desk again.

She looked up when they arrived and typed rapidly on her computer. When she finished, she got to her feet. “Hello again,” She said with an engaging smile and offered Morgan her hand. He shook it. “I'll let you through as soon as Penny writes back. Wow, your companion's tall.”

Morgan eyed Reid. They were about the same height, weren't they? He was about to ask, but there was a small beep from Jordan's computer and she waved them through. Morgan knocked twice on the door and opened it. “Hey, Baby Girl!” He ushered Reid in and closed the door.

Garcia's chair pivoted and the grin she had on her face slipped a bit. “I thought the 'kid' you mentioned was male. And, you know, an actual kid.”

“He is,” Morgan said, somewhat confused, “and he's twenty-five.”

“Then why'd you dress him like that?” Penelope asked.

“You said to grab some Touareg costumes, so I did.”

Garcia laughed. “Yeah, Angel-cake, you got him the _female_ Touareg outfit.” Morgan looked down at himself quickly.

“You're wearing the male costume,” Reid sighed and took off the headgear.

Morgan followed suit and took off the hat he was still wearing. “How can you tell the difference? Looks the same to me.”

“The colour and the sash,” Garcia said. She was still laughing. “Blue is considered the girliest colour, here. And men usually wear those heavy belts, not a sash.”

Morgan turned to Reid. “You knew?” When the young doctor nodded, he asked, “Why didn't you say something?!”

“I thought you did it on purpose,” he admitted. “For the sake of going incognito.”

“I don't think I'd have arbitrarily decided for you to take the female costume, if I'd decided one of us had to go dressed as a woman,” Derek defended.

“It would have been an obvious choice,” Reid said with an awkward shrug. “You'd make a horrible woman.”

Morgan grimaced. “Thanks, I think.”

Garcia laughed again. “And you make a very pretty one,” she told Reid, “though a bearded one at the moment. But that gives me an idea. But for now, let me send Jordan to bed, then we can get you settled into a room and maybe find you some hot dinner.” She typed rapidly, then turned towards them once more. “I'm Penelope Garcia,” she said, extending a hand in greeting, which Reid stared at confusedly until she took his and shook. “People call me pretty much anything they like. But Derek's the only one allowed to call me Baby Girl, so don't even think of trying.”

That seemed to confuse Reid even more. “I... wouldn't?” he said uncertainly. “I'm Doctor Spencer Reid.” Morgan made a mental note to remember his first name this time.

Garcia's eyebrows raised high on her forehead. “Doctor? Pretty _and_ smart. I like that. All right, come with me. Oh, but you guys should cover your faces again. Just to make sure. I'd like to say I trust people here, but the truth of the matter is, I only trust _most_ of my girls, and absolutely none of their patrons.”

Morgan put the head cover and mask back on and gestured. “After you, _Pretty_ Boy.” That earned him an unreadable look from the young doctor, but then Reid turned from him, putting the rest of his costume back on as he followed after Garcia. She led them back down the hallway, then up two flights of steps to the top floor, where she opened the very last door on the right side.

“Here you go,” she motioned for them to inspect the room.

Morgan peeked in. “Garcia, there's only one bed in here,” he said in protest. “What if the kid's a blanket hogger?”

Garcia blinked and looked from one to the other. “You mean you guys aren't together?” They both shook their head slowly. “I'm sorry, I just assumed. When you talked down in my lair... Well, anyway, I guess one of you can take this room, and the other can have the one across the hallway.” She eyed Morgan. “I guess calling Emily wouldn't be too awkward then?”

Morgan shrugged. “Won't be for me,” he replied easily. “And knowing her, she wouldn't care either way.” He went to inspect the room across the hallway. The bed looked bigger on this side. “This's my room,” he said with a grin. “Ah, there's no table though.”

“We can all eat in Doctor Reid's room,” Garcia said. “Speaking of which, I should go find us some dinner.”

“And coffee?” Reid asked hopefully.

“At this time?” Garcia retorted.

“Trust me,” Derek chuckled, “he'll drink coffee anytime, anywhere. With a quart of sugar and half a pint of cream in each cup.”

“Nine grams of sugar and thirty millilitres of cream is fine,” Reid said, pushing his goggles up to frown in annoyance at Morgan who only laughed.

“See, this is what threw me off earlier,” Garcia said with a grin. “You guys already fight like an old couple.”

Morgan blinked at her, then turned to Reid, who was wearing the same baffled expression he was ready to bet anything was mirrored on his own face. Morgan asked, “We do?” and Reid shrugged as if to say, “Don't ask _me_.”

“Yeah,” Penelope said, “you do. All right then, dinner for three and coffee for the good doctor. Three cups,” she added when she saw how many fingers Morgan was holding up. “I hope you like it strong, cause New Nevadans like theirs ridiculously strong.”

Reid nodded with a sort of childish glee that made Morgan chuckle. He said, “I'm going to shower. See you in five, Kid.” At the younger man's acquiescence, he went into his room and closed the door and went over to the tiny bathroom that was attached to it. It was cramped, little bigger than a closet, so he dropped his bag by the door and stripped out of his clothes right there. He hopped into the shower and quickly washed out the grime of the past couple of decs. He'd love to linger, but he didn't know how long it would take Garcia to find them dinner, so he stepped out and dressed back into the Touareg outfit and went across the hall to knock on Reid's door.

There was no answer. Morgan leaned against the wall and waited for Penelope, figuring Reid was just enjoying his own shower. When the woman reappeared bearing a platter laden with food that smelled heavenly, he knocked again. This time, the door unlatched, but Reid didn't appear, so Morgan pushed it open slowly, peering in. He saw the younger man's retreating back as Reid walked away to pick up his tunic from off the floor. His hair was still wet and he was wearing the Touareg pants. He slid into the tunic and picked up his towel to rub at his hair. “That smells absolutely divine,” he told Garcia when she came in behind Morgan.

“Tastes even better than it smells,” she said. “Ashley made it. She's the best cook in the entire town. It's reheated though.”

“I meant the coffee, but I'm sure the food's good, too.”

Morgan grinned at her with his best, s _ee what I mean?_ face and she chuckled. “Got you a pitcher, with sugar and cream on the side so you can fix it how you like it.” She set the platter down on the small table and pulled an armchair closer, since there were only two dining chairs. “Let's eat!”

Reid poured himself coffee and proceeded to add what was to Derek a crazy amount of sugar and cream. Morgan took a sip of water and started eating. “Mm,” he said when he had swallowed his first bite. “This is really good! How's your coffee syrup, Kid?” Reid only gave him a look over the rim of his mug, then let his eyelids fall shut once more, breathing in the smell from his cup. Morgan chuckled and turned back to Garcia. “You mentioned calling Prentiss?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, if someone was brazen enough to attack _you_ , then I'm guessing we could use extra protection.”

“Protection?” Reid wanted to know. “Like the P-reps?” Garcia stared at him for so long that he finally asked, “What?” Penelope turned to Morgan, obviously unsure of how much he'd told Reid. The doctor noticed her look and turned to the older man as well, probably knowing that the answers would have to come from him. He repeated his question, “What?”

“She's the opposite of that, actually,” Morgan said. “I'm a smuggler, Reid. The last thing I need is some damn P-reps biting at my heels.”

“Oh,” Reid said uncomfortably. “I'm sorry, I didn't know. Professor Rothschild never specified what you did, just that your ship was inordinately rapid.”

“Rothschild?” Garcia asked.

“Creep who used the kid to get on my ship and had a goddamn armada of one-seater crafts attack me.”

“I saw his name a lot in the chatter,” Garcia said. “I'll need to re-check, but he seems to be small-fry. What I read and heard about him was really dismissive.”

“You serious?” He stared as she nodded slowly. “Damn. I guess you had better call Prentiss, then. Just warn her that when they knocked me out of the sky, there were twenty-three ships up there.”

“I'll let her know.” Garcia said, then turned her attention to Reid, tapping her spoon thoughtfully against her chin. “You know, you might just be onto something with that P-rep suggestion.” She turned back to Morgan and explained, “There's this P-rep cruiser that's constantly harassing and tailing her, these days. I say we use them. She wanted me to hack their secure system, find who was captain of the ship and give them hell. I think we should just have her flash them and get them to follow her. She could sneak a small craft down to join us down here, and you could take her back up aboard your ship. The Aurora could create a diversion while her armada makes its escape, and then joining up with them would be a piece of cake for you.”

“Armada?” Reid asked, looking somewhat confused. “She heads a fleet?”

“Pirate fleet,” Garcia said, smiling when Reid answered, “Oh.”

“Hm,” Morgan said thoughtfully. “It sounds like a good plan. But I'm not sure what state the Aurora's going to be in when we find her.”

“I looked for her signature signal and she seems operational,” Penelope assured him. “She actually responded to me by sending me a complete list of what was broken and what was fine.” She shook her head in wonder. “Is that part of her emergency protocol?”

“No,” Morgan said with a frown. “She's not supposed to do that. Are you sure?”

Garcia nodded, “It was addressed to 'Baby Girl,' too. Made me wonder if you were the real Derek Morgan for a few. But no grown clone could have it 100% perfect. Anyway, it's easier to send or hack a signal than grow a believable, _imperfect_ clone, so I'll take my chances with you. If the Aurora feed was fake, though, then they knew all of our security codes, our encryption and the way you talk to me. I think Emily should be told, so she knows the risk before she rushes in.”

Morgan nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess then it really is up to her.” He ignored Reid's protest of, “Hey!” and poured himself a bit of coffee, then added hot water to dilute it. He'd had New Nevadan-style coffee before, on other planets. It was too strong for his taste. A bit of cream, and he tried it. A bit more water, and it was good. “How heavy is the local P-rep presence?” he asked Garcia.

“Nonexistent,” Garcia said and poured more coffee in Reid's mug to placate him. “Which is why I decided to move here in the first place. And chose one of the most backwater settlements I could find.”

“And chose a brothel in said settlement as your base of operation?” Morgan teased. Reid choked on his coffee. Derek blinked at him, a little surprised the genius hadn't figured that part out. It was pretty obvious to him. Apparently not to Reid, though. Maybe he'd never been to one.

“Honeypot, I opened the place,” Garcia informed him. “Not that I ever needed to work in it. But it provides a nice cover front. None of the locals thought to ask about the weird foreigner who came to settle in town. Weird foreigner came with a couple of girls and opened a place that over half the population was more than happy to frequent, men and women alike. I don't force anyone to do anything they don't offer to do themselves. The girls set their own price and hand me rent. No one but Jordan, Ashley and myself are allowed in the basement. Win-win.” She eyed him thoughtfully for a moment. “Ever got DNA-mapped? Recently, I mean. No arrest? Hospital visits?”

“You know I'm too smart for that, Hot Mama,” Derek said with a grin.

“Good, then I guess I won't have to permanently change your official records.” She pushed her empty plate away. “But if one of the people after you was aboard your ship, he might have thought of mapping you, just in case. So we'll play it safe and change things around a bit, tie your official, minimal blood-type, general ancestry and gender DNA-map that they did when you were born to some alias. Then we'll enter a fresh DNA-map into the records, which will be a lot more precise and up-to-date, and we'll tie it to another alias. What about you, Doctor? When was the last time you were mapped?”

“I never was,” he said, looking embarrassed. “My mother was distrustful of all medical personnel and never officially recorded my birth.”

Morgan's eyes went wide. “Is that legal?”

“It's not,” Garcia assured him. “All right, then. That takes care of half of our problem. All I need to do is create a DNA-map of Reid – I mean, Doctor Reid –”

“Just 'Reid' is fine,” he said.

“Reid, then. You're not afraid of needles, are you?” He shook his head. “Good. So with the DNA-map, I'll backlog a whole spanky new record for the birth and life of one Spencer Reid. How comfortable are you with wearing the female Touareg outfit?”

Reid shrugged. “Like Morgan said, it basically looks the same as the male one. I don't sound female, though, and my DNA will show as male.”

“That won't be a problem if your record says you're transgendered, honey,” Garcia said. “So we'll put that in the file on the off chance that someone tests you. As for your voice, I guess we'll just have to either use a voice modulator or make sure no one hears you speak. You could hide the modulator under the mask.”

Reid thought about that for a moment, then finally nodded slowly. “Can you get rid of the record afterwards?” he wanted to know.

“I can create it within a kernel that will self-destruct when given a set of parameters, which will erase it entirely, unlike actual records.”

“Then it's fine with me,” he said.

“Now, that brings me to the next part of the plan.” Penelope waited a moment. “You guys are going to get married.”

Reid made a shocked little sound next to him. Morgan couldn't look at him, not even to make sure he was all right. “Baby Girl, I hope that's a joke.”

“It's not,” Garcia assured. “I told you, you already sound like an old couple. And it's only going to be in the fake records, so it won't ever reflect in you real ones – one,” she amended, looking at Reid. “But we'll set it so you guys married a few years ago in, let's see... Ah, New Vegas.” Reid made a soft, amused sound this time. Morgan didn't get what was funny about that, but Garcia was grinning at the doctor in a way that made Derek think that there must be a joke somewhere in there that only the two of them got.

“New Vegas was named after Las Vegas,” Reid explained after a moment. “It was a city that was famous at the beginning of the first century STA as a place where people could get married on a whim and have it mean nothing. This was in the State of Nevada, in the Uni–”

“Kid,” Morgan warned; and Reid, thankfully, fell silent. “You could've just said it was some old city where people faked marriages and left it at that.” He rubbed at his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

“Sorry,” Reid said and cleared his throat.

“Why do you want us to pose as a couple and not as, I don't know, brother and sister?” Morgan asked Garcia.

“Because of your DNA, Choco-muffin,” she said sweetly. “And I don't see why you're complaining. _He's_ going to have to be entirely silent when not wearing his mask and be dressed as a woman for the entire trip. Now those people,” she stuck her finger up, pointing at the ceiling, “are going to be expecting two men who crashed somewhere on this planet within the past couple decs. Not a man and a woman who have legally married here, years ago. Now you can agree my plan makes sense, or find your own.”

Morgan glanced at Reid, hoping for some support, but the kid was nursing his coffee mug and didn't look up. “I guess it's the best we got,” Derek told Garcia. “Oh, who am I kidding. It's probably a brilliant plan. Just awkward for us. I mean, I've only known him for a couple weeks.”

“Hey, I'm going to be pretending to be a servant,” Garcia countered. “We'll _all_ be uncomfortable.”

Morgan's eyebrows arched in surprise. “You're coming, too?”

“As your _wife's_ handmaiden,” Penelope confirmed. “Been thinking of selling this place for years. And Emily offered me a job on her flagship. I used to think it was way too dangerous for me, but no one's landed a hit on her Fiery Maiden since we started talking five years ago. So I'm going to take my chances.”

“But you've always refused to work for me,” Morgan protested.

“Yeah,” Garcia said, “and then you got knocked out of the sky. You should have come and visited sooner. Emily did. Last week. Which is exactly why I know she'll be close enough to answer my summons.”

“Oh Baby Girl,” Morgan said, “you break my heart.”

“Join the club,” she said with a grin.

He couldn't help but chuckle. Things with Reid would be awkward, but he could live with that. It was, he had to admit, a good plan. His decision made, he nodded. “All right, Penny-G. I'm in.”

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting ready to leave the theatre.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Rewrote things a bit. ;;_

* * *

**Chapter 06 **

Preparing for a trek through the desert took time, it turned out – even when one didn't have to think about things like concealing wanted people. The first dec, Morgan had spent the morning in his room, enjoying his newly found solitude, with a reading pad loaned from Garcia. By lunchtime, he had grown very bored. He fought the antsy feeling as much as he could, but a little after 13:00, he found himself right outside of Reid's door. He hesitated a moment, reminded suddenly of how the young doctor used to come onto his flight deck when they were up in space. He knocked.

There was a shuffling sound from within, and Reid appeared. His hair was sticking in every direction in mad curls and cowlicks, and his eyes were unfocused and not entirely open, yet. “I hope you brought coffee,” he said by way of good-morning.

Morgan nearly laughed. Nearly. He should have thought of that. “Nah,” he bluffed, “just wanted to see if you were awake first, before I go down to get some. Your usual?” Reid nodded and shuffled back deeper into the room. Morgan went to enquire about the makings of coffee. A few minutes later, he wandered back upstairs with a tray. He 'knocked' with the toes of his boot, seeing how his hands were currently occupied.

There was no answer but the door hadn't latched properly and creaked open slightly. Morgan let himself in. His first order of business was to set down the tray with the pitchers, mugs and sugar jar onto the small table. Then he looked for the younger man. Reid was laid across the foot of the bed, looking like a nuclear fusion plant could explode right next to his head, and he wouldn't even stir. With a chuckle, Morgan helped himself to a cup of coffee.

He was sort of used to Reid's caffeine addiction, but it was still damn funny to see the young doctor twitch as the smell of a freshly brewed pot grew stronger in the room. Morgan fixed his mug first, then Reid's. He pretty much knew what the younger man liked, by now. First would be a really sweet cup to 'wake him up,' then the amount of sugar would go down with each subsequent cup. And, since Morgan was feeling generous and kind of bored, he even took the mug to Reid, standing next to the bed, cup in hand until the younger man's eyes opened. Eventually, they did, and Reid took the mug from him greedily. “You're welcome,” Morgan said, but he didn't get so much as an acknowledgement from the kid. He went back to the table and rolled out his reading pad again, even though he'd already seen the newscast that he was interested in. Eventually, Reid ambled over to the table and Morgan could finally have someone to talk to. “Better?” That only got him a noncommittal noise. “I think you need a bit more caffeine, my friend.” Another sound, but this one sounded like assent.

Well, someone he could _try_ to talk to, at least.

There was a knock at the door. Reid just drank his coffee without looking up, so Morgan called out, “It's open!”

“Greetings, my fine, furry friends,” Garcia greeted them. “I brought my trusty tablet of awesome so we could work out a few kinks in our plan. First!” She sat down in the armchair and looked from one to the other. “Okay, first? Derek, baby, did you even go back to your own room last night or did you ask one just for show? Because you're here already and Reid totally looks like he just rolled out of bed.”

“It's noon, Garcia,” Morgan said. “Get your twisted little mind outta the gutter, woman. I can hear you thinking from all the way over here and it ain't happenin'.” Reid looked up from his coffee just long enough to throw him an unreadable look, and then he was sucked back into his caffeinated-coloured world.

“Uh-huh,” Garcia said. “ _Anyway_ , I've created a program that will allow me to open profiles in the system database within a self-destructing kernel, linking your DNA-maps to aliases that we should create. So first, I'll need said DNA, thank you!” A little prick at Morgan's forearm and she plugged the tiny machine she'd used into her tablet. It beeped. “Now, Doctor Reid.”

“Ow!” Reid jumped as she used a similar needle on him. He suddenly looked much more awake.

“Now!” Garcia continued, “We need to make up some alias you'll answer automatically to. Let's see here, we could find a name that starts with the sound 'reed.' First name, since Derek's used to calling you that and you're supposed to be his wife. It'd be weird if he calls his wife by her family name.” She poked at her tablet. “Oh, what about Riddelbloom?”

“That's a horrible name,” Morgan commented. Garcia arched her eyebrows at him and he quickly added, “Not that I care.”

“Reediumel.”

“Ugh.”

“Rhidamas.”

“No way.”

“Damnit, Morgan!” she said exasperatedly, “I thought you didn't care! There's Rhydonia. Last suggestion, and you don't get to vote, Derek.”

“It's fine with me,” Reid said with a shrug.

“Okay, good.” Garcia sent an annoyed look at Morgan for good measure, then went on, “Now we need a family name.”

“My maternal grandmother's name was Wilhelm,” Spencer said.

“That works,” Garcia nodded and typed it into her pad. “I wish everyone was as easy to please as you are, Reid.” She sent another look at the smuggler. “Derek can use 'Morgan' as his first name. Then we need a family name for him. How about Defranser? From the combined names of members of his immediate family.”

Morgan looked at her sharply. “How do you know that?” he wanted to know.

“Um, well,” She shifted uncomfortably. “Let's just say that knowing stuff is my thing. It's what I do.” Morgan didn't like his life broken into, but he'd known Garcia long enough to understand how she worked. He frowned at her, but didn't say anything more. Garcia sighed. “I'm sorry, Baby-Cakes,” she said. “I needed to make sure. After what happened with the Aurora, I needed the reassurance that you were really, you know, you. I don't usually pry into the lives of the people I love.”

Morgan rubbed at his forehead. “Okay,” he said. “We'll use that name. Just,” he eyed Penelope, “don't ever poke your nose into my life like this again. If you want to know something, just ask.”

Garcia nodded and tapped it into her pad. “You know I will. I just needed something that I know would annoy you.”

“I know,” he said and sighed.

“Okay,” Garcia said, trying to lighten the mood once more, “so Morgan Defranser and Rhydonia Wilhelm. Profiles created. Now I'll just have to wait a bit and start adding things in so they look like actual records. You know, hospital visits, school records, all that sweet stuff.”

Morgan eyed Reid. “Yeah, what'd you do about school?”

“The University on Kaltek uses its own database, not linked to DNA records like trade schools are,” Reid said, then hid a yawn behind his free hand. He was starting to look sleepy again.

Morgan nodded and turned back to Garcia. “Why wait, though? Can't you just add it all in?” He was curious. He'd never actually seen someone fake a record before, though he obviously knew they weren't the first people to do so.

“Because of the P-bots,” Garcia explained. “They will flag down record as 'falsified' if too many things are entered in rapid succession.”

That made sense. Morgan finished his mug, watching as Garcia typed something in, paused, typed again. He set his cup down. “So, _Rhydonia_ , how's the coffee?” That earned him a look from the younger man that seemed sort of half-annoyed and Derek chuckled.

There was a lengthy pause, then Garcia said, “Oh, I broke the news that I was selling the theatre today. One of the girls wants to buy it from me.”

“That's good,” Morgan said.

“Yeah,” Garcia agreed. “But um...” She shifted uncomfortably, not quite meeting his eyes. “You see,” she said after a moment, “the two girls I originally came with –”

Morgan blinked, interrupting her, “They're coming with us, aren't they.”

Garcia nodded. “They refuse to stay behind.”

“What are they going to disguise themselves as?” Reid wanted to know.

“Well,” Garcia said slowly, “since Morgan is going as someone rich enough to have a hot wife, and to hire a servant for said wife, I thought they could go as hired hands, too.”

Morgan nodded. “Makes sense. So who're they?”

“You already met one. Jordan. And you ate Ashley's food, so you kind of know _of_ her already.”

“Do they know about us?” Reid wanted to know.

“Jordan knows that Morgan is a friend of mine, and she'll soon hear the name you gave her was an alias. Both she and Ashley are smart enough to figure out soon enough that you're on the run from something, and not to ask questions.”

“Do you trust them?” Morgan asked. Garcia nodded right away. There was absolutely no hesitation in her demeanour. “Then I don't mind if they come. Ashley could be our cook and Jordan my hot secretary, how's that?” Garcia and Reid both turned to him. “What,” Morgan asked defensively. “She _is_ hot.”

“Undoubtedly so, my scrumptious chocolate cake, but you are forgetting something. _You_ are _married_ , buster, or at least, you will be once I've entered that into the system. Flirting with your _hot_ secretary will reflect poorly on your brave _wife's_ honour and then you will have her handmaid's wrath upon you. Do not give me cause to release the rainbow troll of anger upon you.”

Morgan's eyes bugged out, “Wait, what?” Garcia scowled at him. “Okay, okay. No hot secretary, got it.” Man, this trip was going to blow. And not at all in a sexy way.

“All right,” Garcia said, getting to her feet, “I've got a few things to work on but I'll return shortly. I'm leaving my tablet here. Do _not_ mess with it.”

“Can you bring back lunch?” Morgan asked.

“I'll send Ashley up, that way you can meet her. When Reid's eyes are actually open again, have him put on his mask or something. I trust Ashley and Jordan, but the less they know, the better for us _and_ them.”

“You got it,” Morgan said and waved in farewell as she left the room. He turned to the young doctor and found him half-asleep again. He topped off his mug. When Reid blinked at him, Morgan dropped a head scarf on his head and told him to wrap it around to hide the strong lines of his jaw, at least. None too soon.

There was a light knock and a pretty blond woman entered. She couldn't be more than twenty-two. “Penny said you guys wanted lunch?” At their nod, she pushed a little food trolley into the room and started placing plates and drinks on the table. That done, she peered curiously at Reid, who hid behind his coffee cup. Coupled with the long scarf wrapped loosely over his head, throat and shoulders, you could only really see his eyes. “Your wife is really pretty,” the blonde gushed. “Hi, I'm Ashley Seaver, and I'm to be your cook until we reach Varna, I'm told.”

Reid let go of his mug with one hand and waved it. Morgan offered her his hand to shake. “I'm Morgan Defranser, and this is my _lovely_ wife, Rhydonia Wilhelm. Everyone just calls her Rhyd.” Reid sent him another one of his sleepy-annoyed looks over the rim of his mug. Morgan grinned widely at him. The young doctor arched one eyebrow briefly, then turned away and closed his eyes again, breathing in the coffee he still held before him. Morgan turned his attention back on Ashley. She looked from one to the other, probably confused with the way they acted together. Morgan moved his chair closer to Reid's and slung his arm over the back oh his chair. Physical proximity was not something _Morgan_ struggled with. He felt the younger man tense up, but he didn't open his eyes again. “Wanna eat with us?” Derek asked Ashley, knowing this would be beyond awkward and difficult for Reid. He even sent the young doctor his most flirty smile. “Reid and I would just _love_ it if you stayed.” The young doctor put his hand on Morgan's knee and just _squeezed_. Hard. It was kind of painful, really. Derek kept his grin firmly in place and turned towards him. “Right, my beautiful darling?” The fact that Reid couldn't even answer since he didn't have his voice modulator yet only made it even more awesome. Morgan could make fun of him without the kid being able to talk back. Well, other than with the bony fingers slowly digging into his knee. Ow. With tremendous willpower, he managed to keep his smile firmly in place.

“I'm sorry,” Ashley said regretfully. “Since I'm moving an entire continent away in less than a week, I really have a lot of things to do. But it was very nice to meet you both.”

“You too, Ashley,” Morgan said, noting that Garcia hadn't said anything about going off-planet. “And thanks for the food, too. I'm sure it'll be just as delicious as dinner was last night.” She sent him a bright smile and closed the door behind her.

There were a few beats of silence, then, “Did you have to do that?”

“Do what?” Morgan asked innocently.

Reid turned his head to send him a flat look. “Flirt with the pretty blonde,” he said in a sarcastic tone that clearly said this wasn't what he was talking about at all. Whatever had happened to shy, awkward Doctor Reid? He definitely got way too used to Morgan if he started using sarcasm with him.

“Someone's getting into their role as the jealous, older wife,” he teased.

“I hardly qualify,” Reid retorted easily, “I'm only twenty-five.” He seemed to suddenly notice how close their faces were, and with a last, warning dig into Morgan's knee, he scooted his chair away to a more comfortable distance. That done, he took off the headscarf.

Morgan laughed. “C'mon, let's eat. I'm starving.”

Garcia joined them after lunch, and she and Morgan chatted for a bit, before the blonde left with her tablet. She had a lot of things to do to prepare for her move off-planet. Morgan walked over to the large couch that sat by the far wall from the bed and sat down, sprawling a bit. Reid, now properly awake, got up from his seat at the table. He picked up his reading pad from the nightstand and Morgan couldn't help but grin at him as the young doctor made his way over to him. He sat sideways on the couch, his back to the armrest and his feet by Morgan's right thigh. It was comfortable, sitting here with Reid, talking about this and that. Most of the time, the young doctor kept his eyes on his pad as they talked. It should have been annoying, but since he was obviously following the flow of their conversation, it was clear he was paying attention.

One afternoon was spent like this, then another. Sometimes, Reid would set the reading pad down and start talking about what he had been reading. Morgan didn't understand all of it, but it was all right. So what if he didn't know what _transmissible spongiform encephalopathy_ meant or had never heard of the _Born–von Karman boundary condition_? He didn't have anything to do, had plenty of time to ask questions and Reid seemed happy with his attention. He wouldn't say he quite _enjoyed_ hearing the young man talk on and on, but so long as they weren't short on time, he certainly didn't _mind_. And well, the kid had been so weird and awkward at first, but the more they talked, the more at ease he seemed to become. His enthusiasm was infectious and he often caught himself smiling as Reid dove into long, passionate explanations after one of Derek's questions.

The first time Reid put his voice modulator on and tried speaking, Morgan laughed. That earned him a weird look from Reid that seemed a mix of offended, confused and amused. The genius tried speaking again, and shook his head. Morgan seconded the sentiment. Neither of them would ever get used to it, but it was a necessary evil. They spent a lot of time discussing the logistics of their roles. A lot of it would have to be improvised on the spot, but it never hurt to be prepared.

On the third dec since their arrival to the theatre, Garcia arrived around dinner time, pushing a trolley in with food for them, a bottle and drinking cups. She poured the alcoholic beverage and then held her cup aloft. When both Morgan and Reid had followed suit, she said, “Congratulations on your marriage!” then drained her cup.

Morgan blinked and said, “Don't say it like that, it sounds weird.” He turned to Reid. “Right?” The younger man shrugged and emptied his drink. Morgan hesitated and followed suit.

“So,” Penelope said, once they had set their cups down, “I couldn't get you guys a wedding cake, but I did sneak a few cookies from the kitchen.”

“Cookies?” Reid perked up and glanced at the trolley.

“Not yet, _mistress_ ,” Garcia said with a laugh. “First, dinner.” She put plates on the table, giving them a report of what she had found out over the past couple of days. The Aurora was still feeding Garcia her coordinates at regular intervals. The ship was somewhere in the Andolene sea. As for Rothschild, he seemed to have disappeared off the face of the universe. No one knew where he was, so it was probably safe to assume he had died when the ship had sunk. The ambulance in which Diana Reid was travelling was proceeding as scheduled. Nothing abnormal was happening on board.

As they ate, they discussed their plans, which were starting to take more definite shape. Garcia would send two of her male employees, Lynch and Anderson, to both blur the trail and do some reconnaissance. They would travel the most direct route to Varna, which was the city closest to the coordinates the Aurora was sending. They would travel to the closest airport, take a small shuttle to the city, then from there they'd take a bigger commercial flight to Varna. The plan was for the them to enquire about the Aurora and get as much attention and information as possible, before heading back home and transmitting the information on to Garcia from the theatre. Morgan's little group would go the long way, through the desert and across an ocean, something that would take them a rather long time, but would get very little attention. Touaregs travelled the desert all of the time, and no one would question a couple on a cruise keeping mostly to themselves. It all promised to be rather awkward for Reid and him, but Morgan was determined to make it as fun as possible. And teasing Reid had proven to be entertaining as hell. So at the very least, he was sure he could enjoy the trip. And he would.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Eyesex!_

* * *

**Chapter 07 **

Morgan stood at Reid's window, watching Anderson and Lynch leave ahead of them. It had been a few days since they'd decided on this plan of action, and now that Garcia had finalized the sale of her theatre and she and her two girls were done packing and organizing what they were taking with them, they were finally ready to go.

Morgan stood at Reid's window, watching Anderson and Lynch leave ahead of them. It had been a few days since they'd decided on this plan of action, and now that Garcia had finalized the sale of her theatre and she and her two girls were done packing and organizing what they were taking with them, they were finally ready to go.

That morning, Morgan had taken upon himself to wake the young doctor. It had been a challenge, but one he was slowly getting used to. And he wasn't half-bad at it, considering the difficulty waking the younger man presented. He looked back to the table, where Reid was seated, staring vaguely ahead with his second cup of coffee in front of him. His eyes might have been open, but he definitely wasn't awake yet. With a sigh, Morgan walked over. He picked one of Reid's hands up and placed it around his mug. Automatically, Reid brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Morgan went back to the window.

It was maybe a half hour later when Penelope burst into the room in a flurry of colour. “All right, boys! Hope you have your passports ready and your bags packed because we're about to hit the road!” She looked positively excited.

“We're ready,” Reid said with a yawn, pushing himself to his feet. He'd managed to peel his eyes open sometime between his third and fourth cup of coffee.

“Yeah,” Morgan said, walking over to the bubbly blonde. He placed a kiss on the top of her head. “We're all set to go whenever you're ready.”

“Then come downstairs,” she said, pulling Morgan's elbow. “Reid, honey, put your head-gear on. Jordan and Ashley will be there.”

Reid did as instructed, though he left the goggles around his neck, and they headed downstairs. The two girls were standing next to what looked like a sort of small train, only with continuous tracks and a large ski in front of the pulling car. A couple of people were busy putting things into another one of the cars.

“What's this?” Morgan asked, stopping in front of the vehicle.

“Your chariot, my prince,” Garcia answered. “See, pull vehicle is all yours. I know how much you like to be at the commands. Tinted windows to protect you and your wife from both sun and unwelcome eyes, and pretty comfy quarters right behind the cab. Let me demonstrate.” With a flourish, she entered a pass-code that snapped a lever out of the side. A pull, and the sides rotated outwards, showing drapes of thermal fabric in a muted, sandy colour. It took about three minutes for the sides to be level with the bottom of the vehicle, forming a large, continuous platform. On it stood a large tent that put Morgan's to shame. “Go see the inside,” Garcia urged.

Morgan glanced at Reid and they both climbed the two steps up onto the platform and into the tent. It was ridiculously large, and there was a table and some chairs in the middle, with a door at the far end that opened into the cab of the vehicle. A bed was fixed to one of the panels that rotated inwards and outwards when opening and closing the tent, and a couch was secured to the other.

Garcia stepped behind them. “So, what do you think?” she wanted to know. “Pretty sweet, huh? Oh, and here.” She glanced at the door and got a parcel from under the table. “Inflatable bed so you don't have to share.”

Morgan took it from her. “Oh, Doll Face, you are amazing.”

“You've no idea,” she replied with a grin. “Fabric is about seventy-five percent sound proof, too. So you can talk, so long as you keep it quiet enough. This way, Reid'll be able to take off his mask in here and in the cab.”

“Oh, thank god.” Reid breathed.

Morgan glanced at him. “Yeah, I second the sentiment. That girly voice is all kinds of weird.” He wasn't sure he'd ever get used to this voice modulator thing. He turned back to Garcia. “Okay, but what's with the rest of the little convoy?”

“Luggage and one more car like this for me and the girls,” she said. “C'mon, let's introduce your lovely wife to your hot secretary.”

“Garcia,” Morgan said with a groan, “must you really bring this back up?”

Penelope grinned and led them back out and towards the back of the train, letting the tent close behind them. “Morgan, you already know Jordan.” He nodded to her and grinned. “Jordan Todd, here is Morgan Defranser. And this is his wife, Rhydonia.”

“Hello again,” Jordan said to him, but as she turned to Reid, her smile slipped a bit. “And, ah... delighted to meet you, Mrs. Defranser.”

“Reid is fine,” the young doctor said. Judging by the long pause, Spencer wouldn't get used to the voice modulator either. “Enchanted to make your acquaintance, Miss. Todd,” he finally added.

“Reid,” the woman acknowledged. “Just call me Jordan.” The young doctor nodded. Morgan kind of had the impression that he didn't want to say anything out loud if he could help it. Derek couldn't blame him.

Garcia pulled at Morgan's elbow, directing him towards the back of the little train. Reid fell in step next to them. “See?” Penelope motioned to a smaller car sitting in front of one that looked a lot like the pull car, but without the front ski. “Second car is for luggage, then third is a passenger car for us,” she indicated her and her two employees, “and behind it, is our tent.”

“You've outdone yourself,” Morgan told the bubbly tech.

“Oh please,” Garcia rolled her eyes. “This is nothing. Wait until I perform a real miracle before you start singing my praises.”

The last of the luggage was being put in the small car reserved for this effect. Most of it belonged to the girls, but Garcia had provided the two men with clothes and essentials she had bought using Morgan's money. They couldn't use Reid's account or they would risk giving away their location, but Morgan had a few different accounts he used under different names.

The girls were climbing into their seats, so Morgan made a wide arm movement towards the front of the little desert train. “After you, Rhydonia,” he said with a teasing grin that made Reid send him a weird look.

They climbed into the cab and the young doctor got the mask, hat and modulator off. “You're enjoying this way too much,” he informed Morgan.

“You mean you don't?” Derek asked him.

“Morgan, I am dressed as a woman, using a voice modulator that makes me sound all wrong and married to you. I can't say I'm enjoying this much, no.”

“Ouch. You wound me,” the smuggler said with a huge grin. “If you ask for a divorce, you can go and sit with the other girls in the back.” Reid sighed noisily and dug his reading pad out of the hideous purse he was always carrying around. Morgan laughed, but let him have his space. Figuring out the controls was a piece of cake, and he soon had the little train's engine running. He threw the theatre one last look, and hoped Garcia wouldn't have to regret selling it. Then he started forward and drove them out of town.

They drove due south for all of the first day, stopping only once for food in the early afternoon. Garcia brought them what Ashley had cooked so they could eat in peace in the cab. Morgan was bored, but Reid didn't look up once from his reading pad. In the end Morgan got his own tablet out and started watching the news podcast with his earbuds in. Lunch also came with coffee and weird little colourful cubes covered in white powder that Reid ate on his own after Morgan attempted one and nearly spit it out.

They stopped again for the night just as evening fell, making things too dark to see properly, even with the headlights. They ate dinner the same way they had eaten lunch. Morgan had caught up on everything he wanted to see, so he put the tablet away after he'd had his dinner, and he got out of the cab. His first stop was to open up the tent so Reid could go to bed if he wanted, without having to step out where others would see him. Then he walked on towards the back of the train and gave the girls' car a little grin and salute, though he couldn't see inside to know if they'd seen him. He kept walking until he was a good distance from their little convoy and went nearly to the top of a sand dune that was just out of view. It would only be warm for a limited time, and Morgan wanted to enjoy the view before he was forced back inside the tent. He lay down on his back, hands behind his head and looked up. They were miles and miles from anything and anyone, and the dark sky was littered with stars. It filled him with a strange sense of homesickness and wonder. That was where he belonged, up there with those stars. And it would be a while yet before he could go back. It would take them weeks to reach Varna, and even then, they had no clue how to get to the Aurora.

He stayed there for a long time, trying to think of how he'd manage to get his ship back up from the bottom of a frikking ocean. There was no sound, not even from their little caravan, thanks to the soundproof material. There was only wind and trickling sand. Sometimes a howl in the distance, which always gave him the creeps. Most planets were pretty safe, as humans had yet to find a single extraterrestrial life-form on any of them, but some Earthly animals of all kinds had been transported by starship, sometimes without human knowledge. And not all of them were cute and cuddly, either. But the howls were far and never came closer, so he figured he was safe. And if he wasn't, well, he still had his guns with him. Force of habit. He never really went anywhere without.

He had been there for maybe an hour, when he heard a shuffling sound that gradually came closer. Then, it suddenly stopped, and a voice broke the silence. “Oh, I'm sorry.” Morgan glanced to the side and saw Reid standing there, looking first surprised, then relieved. He took off his head-gear. When he spoke next, it was, thankfully, in his own voice. “I didn't mean to intrude on your solitude. I thought you were with Garcia.”

“S'all right,” Derek assured him. “I was just looking at the stars.” Reid craned his neck, looking up at the night sky. He sucked in a breath, nearly falling backwards as he leaned his head further and further back. “Betcha can't ever see so many stars from the University,” Morgan added after a moment.

“We can't,” Reid agreed easily. “They actually seem brighter seen from here than from the Aurora.”

“That's cause there's no light here,” Morgan said. “I should show you the view from the Aurora in the dark sometime. You know, just shut down everything but the oxygen flow and we can sit in the cockpit, you and me, and enjoy the view. C'mere,” he patted the ground, sending sand trickling down the dune. Reid hesitated a moment, then walked closer and sat crossed-leg beside him. “Reid, you ain't doin' it right, man. Lie down.” Another hesitation, and the young man leaned back until he was on his back. He stared up with the sort of quiet wonder Morgan remembered feeling the first time he saw the night sky away from the lights of a big city. “Here's a view even your big money education can't give you,” he said. “Completely free of charge.”

“That's not exactly true,” Reid said. “It takes a lot of fuel to get a ship airborne and out of a planet's field of gravity. And even though artificial fuel production costs went down dramatically in recent time, the sheer amount of it that it takes to fly a ship out of the gravitational pull of any given planet means that getting here cost a fair sum. Which makes this view actually quite expensive.”

Morgan frowned, ticked in spite of himself. “Everything is about money with you people.”

Reid sat up. “What do you mean, 'you people'?”

There was a defensive undertone to his words that made Morgan feel a little guilty. He hadn't meant to insult Reid. He attempted to explain himself, “You know, rich folks.” He shrugged.

Reid tried to laugh, but the sound was hollow. “We're not rich, Morgan. Rich people don't send their people off to Bennington. Rich people hire private doctors. Their family members don't end up on a one-way trip to a medical settlement.”

“But you attended university,” Morgan said, confused. “It costs more money that I'll see in my entire life.”

“Scholarship,” Reid explained. “I guess it's a good thing I'm a certified genius.” He shrugged as well, looking dejected.

Morgan sat up, too. He just felt even worse, now. “Reid, sorry, man. I didn't know.” Reid only shrugged again. Morgan frowned. “I guess I should've asked first, huh.” This conversation was quickly taking a turn for the worse. There was a moment of silence.

“It's all right, Morgan,” the young doctor eventually said. “We weren't always so tight. I mean, my mom comes from a good family and my dad's a lawyer.”

“What happened?” Morgan asked softly, intent on rectifying his gaffe.

“My mom,” Reid hesitated a bit. “Mom's been,” he winced, “rather unstable.” He frowned, bit his lips together and seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Then he licked his lips and cleared his throat. “You know, sometimes, she wouldn't go to work for weeks. She came so close to losing her job so many times. In the end, they forced her to take a part-time position so that when she doesn't teach, she doesn't get paid.”

Silence stretched between them for a bit. Morgan was mulling over what Reid had told him. After a while, he asked, “What about your dad?”

“He left. When I was ten. I haven't heard from him since.” Reid shrugged again.

“Now that just ain't right,” Morgan said, but the younger man just looked up to the stars again, leaning back onto his hands. Derek asked, “Did Rothschild offer to pay for the trip to see your mom, then?” Reid nodded. Silence fell once more.

“What about you?” Reid asked after a moment. “No degree?”

“Nah,” Morgan said with a shrug. There had been this guy who'd offered to pay, back in Chicago, but what he had asked in exchange was not something he was ready to give. So he'd punched the man's lights out and never looked back. He wasn't ready to tell Reid that, though. It was all old history anyway. He couldn't even remember the guy's name, though he vaguely remembered him being some big-shot. Carel? Carl? Something.

Silence stretched. They sat there, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Morgan observed the younger man quietly. There was just so much strength in him, that Derek had never even guessed was there. He'd always imagined Reid was some rich, spoiled kid with an easy life, saved from being an insufferable asshole only because he didn't act entitled. He had been so, so very wrong. Reid was so much more than that. So much better than Morgan had given him credit for.

Reid turned his head and their eyes met. The young doctor looked surprised at catching Morgan staring, but then his expression morphed into a pensive look and he licked his lips, like he was about to say something. Morgan also thought he should maybe say something; apologize for staring, perhaps, or for assuming things about the young doctor. He wasn't sure. He even opened his mouth, but nothing came out so he closed it again. Time stretched between them. It should have been awkward and uncomfortable. It really should have been, but it wasn't. Not at all. Reid shifted and moved so he was facing Morgan fully. There was something in his eyes that Morgan couldn't quite read. Something he wanted to know. Reid bit his lips together, then licked them again. He moved as if he was going to get closer, but then he froze and opened his mouth. Morgan was pretty sure the young doctor was about to ask him something, cause he had this unsure, confused look in his eyes.

“There you are!” Both men visibly jumped. Morgan turned his head to his other side. Jordan was walking towards them, smiling brightly and waving. He heard movement behind him and figured Reid was putting his hat and mask back on. He grinned at the secretary, hoping Reid had enough time to put his gear on. Jordan suddenly faltered and her feet slowed down. “Oh, I'm sorry,” she said. “I didn't notice you were with your wife.” She looked visibly uncomfortable. “I'll just go back to camp.”

“S'okay, Jordan,” he told her. “We were just chatting. You didn't interrupt anything.”

She didn't look convinced. “I was just going to say good night.”

Morgan was ready to bet it was a bit more than that, but he didn't push. “Going to bed? Sleep tight.”

She nodded. “You too, when you get to it. Both of you. Good night.”

He stared at her retreating back. “Well, she's right about one thing,” he told Reid. “It _is_ late. What do you say Pretty Boy?” He patted Reid's calf. “Bed time?” Reid nodded, though he didn't speak again. He was probably just avoiding hearing himself speak with the weird girl voice. Morgan got to his feet, then offered the young doctor his hand to help him up. Reid hesitated, frowned lightly, then finally placed his hand in Derek's. Morgan pulled him up, which was entirely too easy to do. Guy was a feather weight. He had half a mind to tease him for it, but then decided to spare him. Tonight had been awkward enough as it was. Instead, he motioned for Reid to precede him back to the camp, and they made their way back in companionable silence.

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reid acts oddly sulky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Reid flees!_

* * *

**Chapter 08 **

Morgan woke up early the next morning, as was usually his habit. He enjoyed rising early. Something about it just made him feel invigorated. He sat up on his bed and stretched, then glanced towards Reid's bed. He paused. The bed was completely gone. He frowned, getting up to his feet. The mattress, blankets and pillows, everything was gone. And there was no trace of the young doctor, either. For a brief moment, he froze. His eyes searched the tent worriedly. No Reid.

He quickly got up and out of the tent, pulling a tunic over his sleep pants. He looked around, but nothing seemed out of place. No signs of Reid outside either, no signs that anyone but their little travel party had been here. So where _was_ he?! He all but ran to the other side of the little train, but there was nothing to see at all.

“Morning!” He turned towards the voice. Ashley was there, smiling and waving in greeting.

He waved back and walked over. “Morning, Ashley.” He tried not to look too panicked, but he had the feeling his worry was written all over his face. “Have you seen Reid?”

She blinked and looked around. “Last I saw her, she was entering your tent with you last night. Did something happen?”

“No,” he said. “I don't know. Maybe. H-she seemed totally okay last night, then this morning I wake up and I'm completely alone in the tent. And I sleep really lightly, so I should have been able to hear if anything had happened.”

“Let's search the train,” Ashley said. “Maybe she couldn't sleep and just went to find somewhere to sleep alone.” Morgan nodded. It made a lot more sense than Ashley herself might know. They weren't exactly used to sharing a tent. Other than the two days they had spent in the desert before reaching the town where Garcia lived, they were used to sleeping alone. And back then, when they trekked the desert, Reid had been so tired, he would have slept anywhere.

He checked the cab of their vehicle. Nothing. Ashley had headed towards the back of the train to check on the girls' car. He looked at her, but she shook her head. They both made their way to the luggage car. As soon as he opened the door, Morgan blew a sigh of relief. There was Reid, sprawled over his mattress, blankets askew and one pillow on the floor. Their luggage was piled up all around him to leave room for his makeshift bed. Morgan nearly felt like punching the kid for scaring him like this. It was a good thing the car was so dark. You couldn't really see Reid's face, and Ashley didn't really look at him. She laughed softly and hopped on. Morgan nearly told her to get out and let the young doctor sleep, but the truth was, if they woke him up, Reid would have totally deserved it. She pointed quietly to a folded-up table, and they got it out and pulled it open. Then they retrieved a few chairs and breakfast supplies. They installed all of it at the back of the train, where there was a flat enough surface they could set up on. Once it was all set, Morgan breathed in deeply and let it go in another relieved sigh. Ashley chuckled and shook her head. 

He eyed her. “So,” he said, trying to take the focus away from the scare Reid had just given him. “Sleep well?”

“Not really,” she laughed. “I'm used to a plush bed, not a blow-up mattress. And Jordan talks in her sleep.”

Morgan couldn't help but chuckle a bit, too. “That sounds like a drag.”

“Yeah, it totally was.” She regarded him quietly for a minute. “You must really love your wife,” she finally commented.

“I'm sorry?” Morgan's eyebrows arched sharply. He was totally taken aback by her comment.

“You looked totally panicked that you couldn't find her,” she explained. “It's touching, really. You care so much about her.”

Morgan didn't know how to answer that. “Um, I guess,” he said with an awkward shrug.

“I'm kind of amazed that she didn't wake up when we moved the stuff out of the car,” she said, glancing back at the little train.

“Reid could sleep through the friggin' apocalypse.” Morgan still had trouble speaking of Reid with a female pronoun, but he was working on it. He was kind of proud of how little he hesitated on it when he added, “There's only one thing that can make her get up, and that's coffee.”

The young woman laughed. “I see. We'll have to make it, then. I'm more of a tea person, myself. Ah, morning, Penny!”

Garcia had just stepped out of the girls' tent, looking drowsy and a little out of it. “M'nin',” she mumbled, and went straight to the little coffee maker that Ashley had put on the table. She started the coffee, then went over to Morgan and just leaned her forehead against his arm.

He chuckled. “Mornin', sleepyhead. I swear, you and Reid look the same in the morning.”

She replied with a very eloquent, “Mrrrr,” which made him chuckle.

He heard a little giggle and looked up to see Ashley hide her grin behind one hand as she turned on the grill. Pretty soon, delicious smells started coming from it, and Morgan's stomach rumbled appreciatively. The wonderful aroma of fresh coffee also came from the machine and Garcia claimed the first cup. Morgan had the next, and he ate breakfast with the girls. Halfway into their meal, Jordan came out of the tent and said, “Mmm, smells good, Ash.”

The petite blonde smiled brightly at her, looking happy at the praise. Jordan walked over the coffee machine and grabbed a mug for herself. Soon, she was seated at the table with the others and conversation flowed easily. When they were done, Morgan grabbed a cup of coffee and added sugar and cream. “Okay,” he told the girls, “I'm going to wake Sleeping Beauty the Second. About time Reid gets up. I wanna get going while it's still morning.”

Garcia grinned widely at him. “Sure thing, Prince Charming. We'll start packing things up here.”

“I hear Sleeping Beauty could only be awoken with a kiss,” Ashley said with a wide grin on her face. There was something about the way she acted that just struck Morgan as unusual, but he couldn't put his finger on it, yet. He chuckled, patted Penelope's shoulder and brought the cup to the luggage car. When he hopped in, Reid was still sprawled on his front, his hair fanned over the pillow he seemed to have picked up from the floor.

“Reid,” Morgan said, and kicked the mattress lightly. “Reid, wake up.” The younger man stirred a bit, then settled on his right side. “Reid,” Derek said a little impatiently. He tried again, in a teasing tone, “Rhydonia.” He sat on the mattress next to the young doctor and poked his shoulder. “Aw, c'mon, man. What will it take for you to wake up?! I'm not going to kiss you, Sleeping Beauty, so open your eyes already. Here, I brought you coffee. Hurry before I decide to drink it.”

Reid's eyes snapped open. “Coffee?” he said, blinking and turning to his other side so he faced Morgan. “Where is it?” Morgan waved the mug temptingly at Reid before inhaling and sighing happily. “Okay, okay, I'm up,” Reid grumbled and sat on the bed. “Don't drink my coffee.”

“Hurry up, then,” Morgan said, though there was no way he was going to drink that sugary atrocity. Reid pushed himself up and grabbed the mug containing his precious caffeine. Morgan let him have it. “We should fill a container to take with us to cab of the train,” he said. “That way, we could leave sooner.” Reid drank half of his cup in one go. “Why are you in here anyway?” Morgan wanted to know.

Reid shrugged uncomfortably. “I just wanted to be alone for a bit. Couldn't sleep.” He shifted a little, obviously ill at ease. “I thought sleeping somewhere where I could be alone would help.”

“Did it?” Morgan wanted to know. Reid nodded and finished his coffee. “Good, cause now we gotta get you back to the first car without the girls seeing you.”

Reid eyed him. “You weren't really going to kiss me, were you?” he asked, and hid behind his mug.

Morgan blinked at him. “Nah, I only said that so you'd get up.” Reid nodded again. “Now, I'm going to head over to where the girls are and help them clean up. You sneak around the other side of the train and go wash up and everything. Close up the tent when you're done. I'll join you in the cab.” Reid nodded again and handed him his mug. Morgan took it from him and waited until the young doctor was standing so he could press the function on the blow-up mattress that would deflate it. As soon as it was folded in its carry form, he stuffed it into its bag and handed it to Reid. Then, he jumped out and went to join the girls. A minute later, he heard Reid close the door to the luggage car and shuffle towards the front of the train. It didn't take them very long to get everything all packed up and put away. Morgan waved at the girls and got into the cab of the pull vehicle, where Reid was already waiting for him. Or rather, waiting for his coffee. Morgan chuckled and handed the self-warming container. He put some music on, though not too loud, since he didn't want to annoy Reid. The younger man pulled out his ancient reading pad and nursed his coffee as he read.

A few days passed like this, and the little group settled into their new routine fairly easily. The second night, Reid snuck out of their tent again, but he thought of bringing his hat and mask at least, and Morgan, knowing he was in there, didn't let Ashley into the luggage car until Reid was awake and back in their tent. After three nights like this, he finally stopped sneaking off, though he was strangely uncommunicative. Morgan didn't know why, but it bothered him a bit that the young doctor seemed to be ignoring him.

Well, not quite ignoring him. When Morgan asked him questions, he answered easily enough, but no more than strictly necessary. Derek wasn't sure what he had done to piss off the younger man like that. Not that he _acted_ pissed. Just kind of oddly sulky. And he couldn't really blame the voice modulator, either. Reid didn't wear it when it was just the two of them in the front car. He didn't get what had gotten into the young doctor at all. He thought they were, not quite friends, but getting along well, in any case. They had been travelling like this for a couple days short of a week, and their supply of water was slowly getting lower, so Morgan had to veer due south for a bit. His maps indicated that there was a oasis there where they could refill their water tanks. They wouldn't reach it until the next day, but at least he'd seen it in time to make the detour. As night fell though, they had no choice but to camp where they were. The desert was just too dark to drive through, even with the powerful high-beams of the pull-vehicle. When one could run into a sand dune and bury themselves alive, it just wasn't worth the risk. Morgan killed the engine and got out. The younger doctor exited the cab from the other side. He went around to the back to open up their tent. Morgan stretched and rolled his shoulders.

Jordan appeared to his left and smiled, waving a hello. He grinned. “Hey there,” he greeted her. “Everything all good with you girls?”

“Yeah,” she replied, stopping in front of him. Her smile was inviting. “We're all good. How about you?”

“Glad to be out and able to stretch my legs a bit,” he admitted with a chuckle. He grinned at her.

“So,” she said after a moment, “will you join us for dinner tonight?”

There was a certain flirty undertone to her invitation, and Morgan didn't miss it. This was his game. He _knew_ when a girl was interested. And Jordan was _definitely_ interested. “Sorry,” he answered regretfully. “Reid's a little shy. Maybe I can convince h-her to come out after dinner.” Truth was, Reid couldn't eat with them, cause he'd have to take off the mask, which would show that he was definitely male, and would prevent him from using the voice modulator to boot. It kind of sucked. There was this gorgeous babe practically begging him to spend time with her, and he had to refuse. But letting Reid eat alone just didn't feel right, no matter how uncommunicative the younger man was, these days.

Jordan made a slightly disappointed face, then shrugged. “Okay,” she said.

Morgan glanced around, feeling uncharacteristically ill at ease. He saw Reid standing by their tent, looking in their direction. Their eyes met and Reid blinked, then turned away. He disappeared inside of the tent. Derek turned to Jordan. “Is Ashley cooking again?” he asked, for lack of conversation topic. His role as a married man kind of really sucked right now.

“Yeah,” Jordan said and nodded towards the back of the luggage car, where the other girls were taking out what they needed to make dinner. “Wanna help?”

“Sure,” Morgan said, relieved to have something to do to break the awkward silence. They made their way back and helped setting up everything, then with the cooking. They chatted and traded jokes, but Morgan was getting a little antsy. This entire time, Reid was alone in their tent. That was the reason why he left as soon as dinner was done, carrying two plates. He stepped into the tent and found that Reid had already set up his bed and was sitting crossed-legged in the very middle of the mattress, reading. “Dinner,” Morgan announced and set the two plates on the table.

Reid looked up, then he poked at his pad a bit before setting it aside. He stood and made his way over to the table, letting himself slide into a chair. “What about coffee?” he wanted to know.

“I'll get some after,” Morgan promised. “Don't make that face, man, I only got two hands. C'mon, I'm starving. Let's eat.”

Reid nodded and started on his plate. Morgan started eating too. They were silent at first, but then Spencer spoke up. “So,” he said slowly. “Jordan?”

Morgan looked up from his plate and frowned at him. He was glad the younger man had finally initiated conversation, but the topic confused him. “Yeah?” he asked, “What about her?”

“She's kind of obviously interested in you.”

“I noticed,” Morgan said, and his frown intensified. “What about it?”

“Nothing,” Reid shrugged. “Just that, if it's so obvious that even _I_ noticed, she's not exactly being subtle.”

“So?” Morgan had no idea where Reid was going with that.

“So,” Reid said, spearing a piece of meat with his fork, “you're married.”

“Um, yeah,” Morgan said, “but not for real. I mean, it's just a cover, right? So technically, I'm not.”

Reid set down his fork. “She doesn't know that,” he said, and his eyes met Morgan's for a moment, before they slid away. He shifted uncomfortably. “After we get to the Aurora, we won't need the cover anymore, and you'll be free to pursue her.” He licked his lips, tilted his head slightly and asked, “Are you sure you want to?”

“You think I shouldn't?” Morgan asked, intrigued in spite of himself. He didn't get why it bothered Reid enough that he'd speak up about it. The guy tended to be non-confrontational as a rule. Plus, he'd kind of ignored Morgan all week, which just made it worse.

“Well,” Reid said with a shrug, “if she's fine with flirting like this with a married man when that man's _wife_ ,” the quotation marks were obvious in the way he said the word, “is right there, next to them... I don't know, it doesn't speak very highly of her sense of morals.”

Morgan tilted his head. “Guess that's true. But it's not like I care much.” He thought of it for a moment, then asked, “Why do _you_ care, though?”

“I don't, not really, ” Reid said, and got up. “I'm going to get coffee. Would you like some?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Morgan said and watched him put his head-gear back on. Then, the young doctor left the tent and Derek was alone with his thoughts. He mulled over what Reid had said, and had to admit it made sense. But it bothered him a bit. It was not really the kind of thing Spencer would normally say, and Morgan was surprised that the younger man had brought it up at all.

Reid returned with two cups of coffee and set one of them in front of Morgan, who thanked him. The younger man nodded and put his own cup next to his plate and took off the head-wear, then slid into his chair once more. The rest of dinner was spent in silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. When they were done, Reid donned his disguise once more and they both took their dirty dishes back to where the girls were finishing their own dinner. Morgan got a pot and brought water to heat up to wash the dishes. It was their turn to take care of cleaning up, which they did as soon as the water was ready. It was normally up to the helping hands to do this kind of thing, but both Jordan and Ashley knew that they weren't really officially their employees, so there was no use pretending in front of them.

Once the dishes had been cleaned, they boiled more water and let it cool a bit, and Morgan took the heavy pot back to their tent so they could wash themselves. He let Reid go first and stood outside the tent to make sure no one went in. Once the young doctor was done, they changed the water and it was his turn. They went on like this until all five of them were clean and refreshed.

It turned out that Reid didn't feel like hanging out with the girls afterwards. So Morgan went to have a chat with Garcia while the younger man remained in their tent for the evening. When Derek walked back in to go to sleep, Reid barely looked up from his reading pad. His sulky behaviour was getting really old, really fast. But Morgan decided not to address it right away, preferring to just get to bed instead. Maybe he'd figure out what was wrong with the young doctor eventually, but for now, he just wanted to sleep. When he let his eyes close, the last thing he saw was Reid curled up on his bed with his reading pad.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Reid is a princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Emily is probably way OOC. I don't see her like this, but in my fic, she insisted._

* * *

**Chapter 09 **

The next morning, Morgan helped Ashley with the makings of breakfast again. They seemed to be the two early birds of the group. He had his coffee with the girls, then brought some for Reid. He took a chance and brought a bit of food, too, even though he knew that Reid didn't really eat breakfast. Waking the young doctor proved as difficult as it always was, but he eventually managed. He'd soon found that the best way to do that was to wave coffee at him, just out of reach, until the younger man finally sat up.

From there, it was a short distance to their table, and Reid plopped himself down on one of the chairs. He drank about half of his coffee in one go. Morgan chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Got you a bit of breakfast, too.” Reid peeked at it and nabbed a bit of sugar bread. He didn't seem so sullen this morning. Morgan took it as a good sign when the young doctor gave him a somewhat sleepy half-smile. Morgan grinned right back. “Sleep well?” he wanted to know. Reid nodded and took another sip of coffee. He ate half of the breakfast, which Morgan felt stupidly happy about. He didn't know why it should matter to him what Reid's eating habits were, but breakfast was important, dammit. When the doctor finished his coffee, Morgan went to fetch him another, then they prepared to leave again and both of them settled in the cab of the pull vehicle. 

The morning passed quickly, with sun and sand the only panorama. Morgan hummed along to the music coming from the radio. Reid got his old reading pad out. They stopped for lunch, but only had leftover packed food. The afternoon passed much like the morning had. As evening fell, there was a soft _beep_ and Garcia's face appeared in the corner of the windshield. “Greetings, Muscle-Cake!” she said.

Reid turned to him, looking both amused and confused. He mouthed _Muscle-Cake?_ and Morgan shrugged and grinned. Hell if he knew where Garcia got all of her crazy nicknames. He pressed the button that would film only the driver side of the cab, so Reid didn't have to put his mask on. “Hey, Baby Girl, what's up?”

“I was looking at the area maps and if I'm correct, you're heading towards the oasis that's to the the south-west?”

“Yup,” he confirmed, “that was the plan. Figured we'd refill on water.”

“Yeah, about that though,” she said, “you'll have to scan for heat signatures and movements. Oases tend to attract all sorts of people you don't want to run into. The desert's pretty empty, but there are a few nut groups around.”

“Heat signatures?” he wanted to know. “Wouldn't it be easier to just scan for devices?”

“Notice that I said _nut groups._ Some of the idiots who run around in this giant sandbox are technophobic fringe groups.” Garcia shook her head, clearly thinking something about how some people were all kinds of insane. “They wouldn't show on a device scan.”

“Okay, I'll make sure the coast is clear beforehand.”

“Good.” She glanced to the side. “Ah, Jordan says hello.” A pause. “Ashley, too.”

Morgan chuckled. “Later, girls.” Garcia disappeared from the windshield and silence fell. The music had stopped automatically when the call had come through and Morgan didn't turn it back on. Reid placed his pad back in his bag. Derek turned the scanners on, for both electronic device and heat signatures. Everything seemed fine. A few moment passed, then Reid sat higher in his seat.

“I think I see it,” he said “Or, I see a palm tree, at the very least.” He frowned lightly. “Weird that someone thought to bring and plant a tree here. Trees,” he amended. “There's more than one.”

“Maybe some Touareg tribe,” Morgan ventured. “I don't know. But it'll be a nice place to camp tonight. I'm getting pretty sick of sand dunes.” Reid nodded his assent and kept his eyes fixed on their scanners, so the older man could focus on the oasis itself. There was absolutely no sign of life, other than a few trees, and patches of dry, yellow grass. Morgan manoeuvred the little train until it was parked alongside the water that made life possible here. He got out of the car and opened up the tent for Reid so the younger man didn't have to put his head-gear on, then walked over to the back of the train. He helped the girls prepare dinner, then took his and Reid's shares back to their tent, where they ate in near-companionable silence. It wasn't quite comfortable like it used to be, but at least it wasn't so tense anymore.

As dusk fell, they all ended up outside by the water. Garcia was doing something on her laptop, Morgan wasn't sure what. He saw Jordan and waved a hello, but he turned to Ashley to chat, not wanting to deal with a flirty Jordan right now. “So,” he said, “you're a really good cook. Where'd you learn all that?”

“Cooking school,” she admitted with a small grin. “I went when I was sixteen.”

“That's pretty young,” he said, and pretended he didn't notice Jordan sitting next to Reid, disrupting the young doctor's reading. “Why'd you go?”

“At the time, I just wanted to leave my village,” Ashley said.

“Can I ask you something?” he heard Jordan enquire softly. Reid nodded and flicked his eyes up to Morgan, then blinked when he caught him watching. He turned his attention back to Jordan, who asked, “Doesn't it bother you?”

“Doesn't what bother me?” Reid asked her.

Morgan half-listened as Ashley went on to explain that her dad did something pretty bad and living in her hometown became unbearable, but his attention was more on Reid and Jordan than on the young blonde woman.

Jordan tilted her head in Morgan's direction. “That,” she said. “Girls flirting with your man.”

Reid looked up and their eyes met. Seeing how this was the second time he was caught staring at them, Morgan did what a loving husband would do; he grinned and waved at the younger man who waved back. He might have been smiling, but Morgan couldn't tell with his mask. He turned back to Ashley, but kept his focus on the conversation between Reid and Jordan. “It's always like this,” he heard the younger man tell Jordan. “Girls just love him. It's been like this since I met him.” Clearly, he was referring to that night at the Red Lounge nearly a month before. Had it really been a whole month? “And,” Reid continued, “he wouldn't cheat anyway.”

“You're not really listening to me, are you?” Ashley asked Morgan with a little chuckle. “You guys are so cute.”

“Um,” Morgan replied. “Who? Reid and me?”

“Yeah,” she said. “You married three years ago and you're still head over heels for each other.”

“Ah, right,” Morgan shifted. Then he paused, suddenly realizing what was different about Ashley. She was open and friendly, but despite what Jordan had implied, she wasn't flirty. She didn't even make eyes at him. It was like he was just your average Joe. It was a little weird. “What about you?” he asked, trying to get the conversation away from Reid and him. “Anyone special in your life?”

She glanced to where Reid and Jordan were sitting together. She shrugged and shook her head. “Not really. But that's okay. I think it'll happen someday, but I can't force it.”

Morgan smiled. “Yeah, I guess that's true.”

“Say,” she said after a moment. “Can I ask you something?”

Morgan wasn't sure he should, but he said, “Sure, go ahead.”

“Is she a princess?”

“Is who a princess?” Morgan followed her line of sight and he arched an eyebrow. “Reid?!” He chuckled. “What gave you that idea?”

“It was a rumour,” Ashley said. “Some of the girls at the theatre. They started talking cause, you know, she's so mysterious. She never takes off her mask in public and barely speaks to anyone. So they started saying she was a princess from another planet who had eloped to be with you.”

“Um,” Morgan cleared his throat. “Reid's... not a princess but... Let's say we have our reasons.” Ashley nodded and didn't press him further. He looked towards the other two, as well. Jordan looked a little annoyed, but Reid just went back to his reading, ignoring her completely. 

“Ah-ha!” Morgan turned towards Garcia at her triumphant cry. “There she is! Emily, can you hear me?”

There was a rather lengthy pause and everyone in their little group got closer. Then, “Penelope Garcia, it is good to hear your voice.”

“You too, darling.” Garcia grinned at the screen. “Where're you at?”

“We got delayed a bit,” Emily said. “I don't think we can reach New Nevada for another week at least. Is Morgan with you?”

Derek moved so that the lens on the tablet could capture him. “Hey Prentiss,” he greeted.

Her face lit up in a genuine smile when she saw him. “Morgan, you haven't changed a bit. Garcia told me you got married?” She chuckled, obviously amused.

“Um,” Morgan said uncomfortably, “yeah, ah, I don't know what Penelope told you but yeah, I'm married now.” He threw Garcia an annoyed look, which didn't faze her at all.

“Oh, she told me everything,” Prentiss said with a laugh. Apparently she couldn't help teasing him about it. But with Jordan and Ashley with them, he couldn't actually say anything back. He sighed, shaking his head slightly. Emily laughed again. “Congratulations. Three years huh? It didn't take you too long to get over me.”

“Emily, we broke up _five_ years ago because you wanted to bang the hot first mate on your ship.” He laughed. “I don't think you have room to talk, here.”

“Pfft,” Prentiss laughed, “it's kind of hard to break off a relationship that wasn't really happening because _someone_ didn't want to commit.”

“But those days are over!” Garcia interjected, and she turned to Morgan. “You're married now, and if I catch you cheating on Reid, well.” She had a threatening sort of smile. “Let's say I can be very creative in dealing punishment.” She sent Jordan a warning look.

Morgan turned towards the young woman just in time to catch the disbelief on her face before she schooled her features into a blank mask. What surprised him though, was the look on Reid's face. It was a little hard to read his expression with his mask on, so Morgan wasn't quite sure what it meant. He frowned in confusion, but then, the young doctor caught him staring, and he blinked at him then looked away. Derek didn't know what to make of it, so he turned back towards Garcia and her pad. “I don't cheat,” he defended. “When I did sleep around, I made it clear to everyone involved that it wasn't an exclusive thing.” He caught the look on Garcia's face and added, “But I'm married now and totally exclusive.”

“Can't wait to meet your wonderful wife,” Emily chuckled. “Anyone who can make _you_ monogamous is bound to be quite something. Anyway, I'm going to head for the town of Devon. I should be able to make it there in about a week. Think that'll be enough time for you to get there?”

Morgan turned to Garcia. She'd know better than him. “Should be enough time,” the techie confirmed. “Will your crew be okay without you?”

“Are you kidding?” Emily shook her head. “We could run circles around the P-reps, and they'd never catch us. But I'm going to fly away from the fleet, meet up with you guys, and then send for my ships when we're ready to get off New Nevada. In the meantime, the fleet will try to get as much attention from the officials as possible. Right, JJ?” She turned to someone off-camera.

“Oh, we'll get their attention, don't worry.” The pretty blonde leaned into the frame. “Hi Morgan,” she greeted. “Don't worry, we'll use the P-reps and clear the sky of those pesky ships hovering about. This isn't my first ball game.”

Morgan grinned and waved. “Hey, JJ.”

“Oh, congrats on your marriage. Belatedly.” She grinned. “Who would have thought you'd get married in the end?”

Morgan made a face. Did everyone in the entire universe know?! “Thanks, I think.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What about you? No one steady to warm up your bed?”

JJ laughed and shook her head. “Still looking,” she said, and disappeared off-camera again.

“Good luck with that,” Morgan called after her, and heard her laugh in response.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Emily cut in, “I'll join up with you guys in Devon while my ships gather up official attention.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Reid asked, the voice modulator making Morgan cringe a bit still.

“Whose voice was that?” Emily asked.

“Morgan's wife,” Garcia answered.

“Oh, well, to answer the question, you know how that goes.” Emily's smile was toothy. “Plunder and pillage until we have every P-rep cruiser in this solar system on our tail.”

Reid said, “Oh,” and Morgan laughed at his discomfiture. He'd never get enough of just how square the kid was.

“Hey,” Emily said, “I want to see her.” She didn't seem to realize they had company.

Garcia glanced back at them and Reid shook his head, backing away from them. It was obviously a show for the benefit of the two girls travelling with them. Morgan knew there was no way Penelope would let it happen, since she had to keep up their cover, and it was hard enough with Jordan and Ashley around them constantly. “She's shy,” the techie said. “But you'll meet her soon enough.”

“Even then, we can't let you see her face, though,” Morgan said smoothly. “She's a princess from a distant planet who eloped to be with me, you know.”

Reid asked, “What?!” right as Garcia started laughing.

“I see you've heard the rumour,” she said. “Anyway, we'll see you in a week in Devon, Emily. Ta!”

They said their good-nights and Morgan headed towards their tent, Reid following closely behind. As soon as the door was secured, the young doctor took off his mask and voice modulator. “What was that?” he asked Morgan.

“Ashley,” Morgan explained with a grin. “She told me the girls at the theatre thought you were a princess and that's why you could never show your face.”

“Okay,” Reid said, “but did you have to bring it up?”

“Oh, come on, what's the big deal, Reid?” Morgan shook his head. “You heard Emily. Garcia told her everything, so she knows the marriage is bogus. She was just pushing to make fun.”

“You didn't help,” Reid said with a sigh. He got his mattress out and flicked the switch that would fill it with air.

“Aw, c'mon, man.” Morgan walked over and put his hand on his shoulder. Reid didn't look back at him, so Morgan gently pulled him around to face him. “Why're you mad? I don't see how that's any worse than pretending to be a woman.”

“Still not helping,” Reid commented.

“Okay, okay,” Morgan sighed. Reid had just started being more friendly again. Maybe he'd pushed the joke a little too far. He offered, “How about I go get you some coffee and the weird little sweet cubes you keep stealing from Garcia?”

Reid thought about it for a moment. “Okay,” he finally agreed, so Morgan left to fetch the peace offering.

Soon after he returned, he went to bed. The last thing he saw was Reid hunched over his reading pad with a hot cup of coffee in one hand. Then, he let sleep claim him.

The next morning, Morgan got up early and had breakfast with the girls, then brought Reid's along with coffee back to their tent. Followed the usual fight to get Reid out of bed. Once everyone was settled and caffeinated, they left and drove due west. Sand dunes gave way to bare rock with spikes that jutted up towards the sky at sharp angles. There were deep ravines and narrow ledges. Morgan had to stop for a few minutes to allow the front ski to switch around with a wheel. It would have been easy for them to lose their way into the rocky labyrinth, but thankfully, the computer guided them through the safest passages.

Sometime mid-afternoon, Garcia's face appeared on their windshield again. “Hello, my ridiculously attractive friends!” she greeted.

“Heya, gorgeous,” Morgan replied with a large grin on his face.

“I bring terrible tidings,” Penelope said. “We'll have to change course a bit. There's a Y-shaped intersection ahead. The computer says to go right, but you should go left. It'll slow us down by a day or two, but it's better than the other option. News podcast said there's a roving band of Barbarillos near the town we were heading for so we'll have to make a detour.”

“A roving band?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah, on horseback. It's a weird bunch. One of those anti-technology groups I told you about.” She made a face. “And when I say _anti-technology_ , I mean it,” she added. “They fight with swords, knives and flails.”

“Okay,” Morgan said and took a left at the fork. “That's just all kinds of nuts.”

“You've no idea,” Penelope said. “They often attack settlements and travellers alike, and make off with all kinds of stuff. I guess they reject proper labour as well as technology.”

Morgan chuckled. “Okay, just send me the route you'd like us to take, Mama.”

“Aaand, sent.” Garcia waved. “Toodles, my lovelies. I'll see you tonight.”

“Marauders,” Reid commented. “It's like we're in an adventure novel from Pre-Space Age.”

“You sound excited,” Morgan said, grinning at him. “Just be careful what you wish for, this adventure novel shit could kick your ass.” Reid gave him a little smile, but didn't answer.

They drove on, stopping only as evening fell again. Morgan found a wide enough platform where it would be very comfortable to camp. He ate with Reid in their tent, then the two of them hung out with the ladies afterwards. Reid seemed to get along pretty well with Ashley, while Jordan preferred to joke around with Derek and Penelope. They ended up staying out until the temperature dropped and they all started thinking about their thermal tents and blankets. After a round of good-nights, they all retired to their beds, not at all expecting the rough wake up call they would have the next morning.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things click in Morgan's head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You're welcome. And, I'm sorry. ;;_

* * *

**Chapter 10 **

Morgan got up early as he did every morning and went to help Ashley with breakfast again. He settled into his new routine fairly easily. He'd just managed to wake Reid when Garcia barged into the tent. “Morgan, Reid!” she yelled. “We have company!”

They rushed outside. As soon as they stepped out of the soundproof tent, they could hear a noise that reverberated all around the steep cliff faces until it sounded like thunder was exploding all around, under and over them. “What's that noise?!” Reid asked, covering his ears.

Morgan saw Ashley turn around and freeze. He glanced back. Damn, he'd forgotten about the mask and voice modulator. Apparently, so had Reid. Oh well, there was nothing for it now. “I don't know,” Morgan said, moving so the girls (and Reid) were between his back and the tents.

“Horses, I think,” Garcia said. “The echoes make judging their numbers hard.”

“The Barbarillos?” Morgan asked. Jordan moved next to him and took a gun out from under her pant leg where a holster was strapped to her calf. he didn't have time to be impressed.

“Probably,” Garcia replied, looking frightened.

Derek took out his guns, the one at his belt and the one in his boot both. “Okay, anyone else know how to shoot?” he asked, holding up one gun. The other three shook their heads. “Damn. Okay, Doc.” He gave Reid one of the guns. “You and Jordan cover Ashley. I'll cover Garcia.” Reid nearly dropped the gun, but then there was that quiet strength that Morgan had just started to notice recently, and the young doctor nodded and moved to the other side of Jordan. They held up the firearms.

When the would-be bandits came into view, three successive shots sounded and two men fell off their horses. Then, things turned slightly chaotic. There was the sound of hooves, the sound of guns firing, screams, yells, horses neighing and throwing their riders. Morgan was a damn good shot and every single person he fired at, fell. He saw some bandits go down, that he knew he hadn't aimed at but he didn't know who, between Reid and Jordan, had fired the shots that had felled them.

Then, a dozen men or so were strewn in front of them and there were only three marauders left. Seeing how they were clearly no match for three guns, they turned their horses around and started running for it.

“Oh no, you don't!” Morgan called out after them. He sprinted forward, but he couldn't outrun horses. He slowed down and took the time to grab one horse whose master lay dead at its feet. He heaved himself up and the horse neighed and shook its head. “C'mon, man. Go!” He dug his heel into its flanks and the horse bounded forward.

“Morgan!” he heard Reid call after him. _“Don't!”_

Morgan ignored him and urged the horse on. The three human rats before him were still going too fast. He aimed at the one closest to him and fired. The sound of the shot echoed and spooked the horse. It reared up onto its hind legs suddenly, neighing in terror. Morgan had never actually ridden a horse before. He was easily thrown off of the frightened animal. He fell, hit the ledge of the platform they had been camping on and kept going, right over it and into the ravine below.

 _“Morgan!”_ he heard Reid yell in panic, and felt intense pain as the sharp edges of the rocks ripped into him.

There was this short moment where he thought the fall was going to be the end of him, but then, just like that, it was over. He was at the bottom, in a sort of puddle of loose sand, about two metres below the platform. He took a minute to just breathe, relieved that he was still alive, and still in one piece. His right shoulder, back and side hurt, but nothing appeared to be broken. He was lucky as hell that there was a cushion of sand to break his fall. He pushed himself upright with a groan, then got to his feet and took a few more seconds to sigh in relief, then he raised his left arm, waving in the general direction of their little campsite. “I'm all right,” he called out. “Well, I hurt like hell, but I'm alive.” He heard running footsteps. Jordan peeked over the side, then Garcia, and finally Ashley.

“Need a hand up?” Jordan asked.

“I'm good,” he said. He climbed using the same rocks that had hurt his back on his way down. They were sharp and it was painful, so he was glad he only had a short distance to climb. Soon, he was standing on the platform once more, with an armful of Garcia. “Okay,” he said, “that was an adventure.” He patted Garcia's head. “I'm okay, I really am.”

“You scared the _hell_ out of me!” She squeezed him tighter.

“I know, I know,” he said. “I'm sorry.” He turned towards their camp and saw Reid just sort of standing there, looking frozen in place. When their eyes met, the young doctor jerked, his lips tightened in a thin line, and he turned away. A moment later, he disappeared in their tent.

Morgan let go of the techie. “Sorry, girl,” he apologized and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I'll just go see if he's all right, okay?”

Garcia nodded and took a step back. Jordan exclaimed, “Morgan, you're bleeding!” The girls started fretting, but Morgan waved them off. “Just get me a first aid kit, I'm going to check on Reid.”

“Penny, you could have told us he had a husband, not a wife!” he heard Ashley say. “Why lie about his gender like this?”

Garcia sighed, “It's a long story. Is the first-aid kit in the luggage car or our tent?”

Morgan ignored them after that, not really wanting to know how Garcia would explain the whole situation. Things were already awkward enough as it was. He jogged back to their tent and up the steps. He pushed the door aside roughly and stepped in. The young doctor had his back to him. “Reid,” he began.

The younger man turned to him. “Why are you such an insufferable ardipithecus?!” he asked, somewhat shakily. He started pacing back and forth, twisting his hands. Even when he was insulting him, Reid had to use words that seemed to come straight out of a dictionary, fresh and never once used before in the history of mankind. Morgan _thought_ it was an insult, anyway. He had no clue what ardipithecus meant.

For some reason, Reid's reaction bothered him. Sure, they had gotten closer in the past few weeks, but he didn't think it was quite so much that the younger man should start yelling at him like this. “Morgan,” Reid stopped right in front of him and Derek could smell strong coffee on his breath. “Morgan, you could have died!”

“Yeah,” Derek was totally taken aback by the strength of his gaze. Hazel. “Yeah, I could've. I guess that was pretty reckless, huh.”

“Reckless doesn't even begin to cover it! What if you had died, Morgan?! What about–” His voice broke and he turned away from Derek, who stood there, not knowing what to do or how to react. He didn't get what the big drama was. So what if he _had_ died?

He'd much rather be alive, of course, thank you very much. For one, he had a mother and two sisters he cared a lot about, even though he didn't see them nearly often enough. He didn't want to cause them grief. And maybe, just maybe, Reid would be a little bummed out for a bit if he died, but he was brilliant. He'd get to the ship and get off this god-forsaken planet. He would probably be able to work the ship even better than Morgan, actually. Maybe with that big brain of his, he'd understand all of the intricate details that made it defy the laws of physics or whatever it was that made the ship so impossible.

He shifted from one foot to the other, clenched and unclenched his fists, and still, Reid was just _standing_ there, with his back to him. He didn't seem to be crying. There was no sound; he wasn't even moving. He just stood, straight as an I. Morgan cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, resisting the urge to sigh noisily. “Listen, Kid, uh...” He didn't know what he was supposed to be saying. “Reid,” he tried again, taking a step closer and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Then he took another half-step closer. “Spencer.” Reid finally turned his head a fraction towards Morgan, so he tried again, “Spencer, I'm sorry I freaked you out, okay?” He kept his voice soft, and was rewarded by Reid finally pivoting and looking at him.

They were close, much closer than Morgan felt comfortable with. Reid's right shoulder was brushing against his left, though his other side was angled away from him, and when the young man turned his head towards him, it brought their faces only inches apart. But as Morgan started moving to take a step back to a more adequate distance, Reid's gaze just sort of locked onto his. Like it had that night on the sand dune. He was vaguely aware of the thought that if Jordan meant to interrupt them again, now would be a damn good time. Only, he suddenly really didn't want anyone to walk in, for some reason.

Reid's eyes slid down to his mouth, and the younger man's lips parted. He seemed about to say something, but ended up licking his lips instead. And then he just closed the distance between them and molded his mouth to Morgan's. And all Derek could think was, _'Oh.'_ Suddenly, so many things clicked into place. _'Oh.'_

He should really move away. His hand even came up to push Reid gently away, only the order seemed to have short-circuited on the way, when his hand was somewhere around the height of Spencer's shoulder. It kept going up until it cradled the side of his head for a moment before burying in the soft waves and curls. Reid shifted, turned the rest of the way, and he gripped Morgan's sides, hands tightening into fists, twisting the light fabric of his tunic. Morgan was a bit surprised at how totally okay he was with the sudden turn of events. And he was. More than okay, really. His free hand landed on Reid's hip and pulled him closer. The young doctor made a soft sound in the back of his throat and Morgan's head started spinning a little. He changed the angle, pushed his tongue forward and tasted strong, very strong coffee and those weird cubic sweets Penelope was always giving them.

“Oh hey, Derek I – Oh, my.” Speak of the devil.

Morgan took a step back, away from the younger man and those damn intoxicating lips that made him lose his head for a bit, there. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and realized his eyes were boring into Reid's, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. He cleared his throat again and turned away.

“Hey Garcia,” he said, his voice a little tight, “you need something?”

“No, my lovely Adonis,” she replied with a wicked grin, “I believe it is you who needs something.” She held up a bag. “First aid kit? I was going to offer to patch you up, but it seems you'd rather let your _wife_ ,” her tone had an edge of teasing laughter underneath, “do it for you.”

“Now, Baby Girl, that ain't...”

“Ah-ah-ah.” She wiggled a finger left to right and right to left in front of his nose a few times. “No use in denying it. You had your tongue in his mouth and I saw it.” Reid made a little strangled sound behind him and he didn't need to turn around to know the young doctor was hiding his face in his hands. Hell, if Garcia hadn't been right in his face, he might have done that himself. “And if you guys are comfortable enough around each other to intimately check the compatibility of your immune systems, he can take care of your wounds.” She pushed the kit into his hands.

“Garcia,” Morgan pleaded, “Princess, stop teasing.”

“I tease because I love,” she answered breezily, then looked past Morgan. “Boy Wonder, he's all yours.”

Then she turned, and with one last wave, she walked herself out. Derek took a deep breath, counted to ten, and turned towards the young doctor. Their eyes met for a split second before Reid looked away.

“That... was mortifying,” he said a little shakily.

Morgan couldn't help a laugh at that. “Hey, now, it wasn't _that_ bad.”

“Mortifying,” Reid repeated and let himself fall gracelessly into one of the seats.

“Pretty Boy,” Derek walked over and put the kit down onto his lap, reminding him, “ _you_ kissed _me_. If anyone should be freaking out here, I think it should be me.”

“I'm not freaking out.”

“Good,” Morgan patted him on the arm, “cause I need your help with this.” He started undoing his belt, and suddenly realized that, in view of what had happened between them, standing in front of Reid while removing his tunic would be _beyond_ inappropriate. He wasn't too sure what was going on, but they were definitely past the point of casual undressing around each other, but not yet to the point of not-casual undressing.

He was starting to give himself a headache.

His pause made Reid look up at him and _damn_ if Morgan had never noticed how large his eyes were and how perfect his mouth looked for, _whoa there_. Not going there. He cleared his throat and turned away so he could remove his belt and top without feeling like he was about to snap and ravish the young man. Once he was dressed only in his loose-fitting pants, he picked up one of the chairs and pulled it so it was next to Reid's.

“Okay, Doc. Do your thing.”

“You do realize that I am not a medical doctor, don't you?” Reid asked him, and Morgan nearly jumped out of his skin when the young man placed the tip of his fingers on his shoulder. Damn, they were cold. How could anyone have icy fingers in the middle of the hottest desert in the entire galaxy was beyond him. “My degrees are in physics–”

“Can you disinfect and bandage a wound?” Morgan interrupted, not really caring to know what Reid had studied. He felt stupid enough just trying to communicate with the kid without hearing about his long list of scholarly accomplishments.

Reid faltered a bit, taken aback by his sudden brusque manner. “Uh, yeah,” he said a little uncertainly, “I can do that.” He leaned in to take a closer look. “I see a few cuts,” he said after a moment, “but mostly abrasion of the skin. It looks worse than it is because of the sand.”

He rummaged through the bag and Morgan forced himself to take a deep breath and slowly let it go. He could still taste sweet coffee. And he never used sugar in his, so he knew exactly where the taste had come from. He turned his head to look at Spencer. “Reid,” he said and waited until the younger man looked up briefly in acknowledgement, but the hazel eyes soon slid away and Reid went back to rummaging through the first aid kit. “Reid, what was that?”

“Abrasions are damage to the skin that go no deeper than the epidermis–”

“I know what abrasions are, Reid.” Morgan said with a sigh. He watched him wash his hands with an antibacterial solution, then take a disinfectant vial and break it open. The sudden acrid smell nearly made him gag. Reid poured the transparent liquid onto a cloth and started cleaning his shoulder, making Morgan suck in a breath. “That's not what I'm talking about,” he added once he got used to the burning sensation of the disinfectant, “and you know it.”

“Yeah,” Reid replied, somewhat testily, “I'm a little busy at the moment. Perhaps you might want to reschedule this talk.”

“So you can avoid me for another week again?” Morgan asked, and felt vindicated enough when he saw Reid wince a bit. “I'm serious, Kid,” he insisted. “I want to know what goes on in that big brain 'o yours. What was – Ow! That hurt, Reid!”

“I told you, I'm a little busy, now can you please shut up and let me clean out your wounds?”

His voice had a pleading quality to it, so Morgan looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “All right,” he said, “but you _will_ talk about this.” Reid's hazel eyes flicked up, met his, then returned to Morgan's shoulder and back. This was probably as close to an answer as he was going to get, so Derek let it drop. A few moments went by in silence, broken only by Morgan's sharp intakes of breath when Reid did something that was painful on his broken skin. He let the young doctor reposition his arm as needed to get to where one cut curved around the side of his upper torso.

Then, finally, Reid snapped the kit shut and placed it back in its bag, “There, I've finished with it. You can put your clothes on now.”

Morgan pushed himself up and picked up his tunic. “I guess this would be slightly less awkward if I had some clothes on – Reid?”

By the time he had straightened up and turned towards the door, Reid had already left.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reid is avoiding Morgan again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _In which Reid keeps fleeing and Garcia freaks Morgan out._

* * *

**Chapter 11 **

Morgan sighed deeply, and put the bloodied tunic in a bag to get it washed and re-fibred later. He pulled a clean top on, fastened the belt and took a moment to compose himself. Reid had just kissed him. Reid had _kissed_ him and Morgan was somehow okay with that. He didn't know why that was. It made no sense to him, it made no sense at all. Now, he knew that human sexuality was fluid, but he kind of thought that people would recognize they were attracted to both sexes _before_ they turned thirty. And in his thirty-three years of life, he hadn't thought about other guys at all. Not once.

That was probably why he had missed all of the signs, he thought. It was easy for him to tell when a girl was interested, but he'd never looked for those clues in Reid because he'd never looked at him as a potential romantic interest, ever. But, they say hindsight is perfect vision, and now that he looked back, it all made sense. The looks, the talk about Jordan, all of it. He wondered when it had all started.

The other big question was, why was _he_ okay with this? Why hadn't he pushed Reid away? No, he'd _pulled him closer_. He'd kissed him hungrily, and it had felt great. Now, Morgan wasn't one to deny himself when something felt good, but it just didn't make sense to him that he would be into Reid when he had never looked at males, before. Yet it was true. As crazy as it was, as ludicrous as the idea would have felt to him just a few short weeks ago, he was into Reid. Or was it so crazy?

Reid had certainly grown on him, slowly but surely. Yes, he had no fashion sense and could ramble on any given topic for hours on end, but he was also headstrong and amazing, in his own way. And pretty. He couldn't really apply the word 'handsome' to the young doctor, because he wasn't handsome in the usual sense of the word. He didn't have broad shoulders or manly facial features. No, he was beautiful, in a sort of delicate way that still managed to be distinctly male all the same. Another question his mind supplied was, what was he going to do about it? So, he was attracted to Reid in spite of him being male. And Reid must be into him, judging by all the little hints that suddenly made sense when the young doctor had kissed him. So then, what was Morgan going to do about it? He could go for it and see where it took him, or he could turn the young man down. Gently.

But wait, if Reid was into Morgan, why had the young doctor run off? Where was he anyway? Morgan stopped pacing and got out of their tent, hopping down from the platform rather than use the steps. He spotted Reid helping the girls put away the makings of breakfast. He was chatting amiably with Ashley, but Jordan had this puzzled look on her face as she listened to them, like she didn't quite know what to make of the fact that Reid was actually a man. Morgan couldn't blame her. If anyone had pulled that shit on him, he wouldn't know how to react either. He was amazed that Ashley had apparently taken it all in stride.

He walked over to them, but when Reid saw him approaching, he said something to Ashley and quickly walked away. Morgan faltered. He stopped walking and stared after the young man in confusion. Why was he running away? It wasn't like Morgan was going to punch him or anything like that. Jordan looked up and saw him standing there. She glanced back to where Ashley was now working alone. Then she looked at Morgan again and smiled. “You okay?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, just got some minor cuts. It looks worse than it actually is.”

“That's good,” Jordan said. “We're nearly done here. We'll be good to go in maybe five minutes or so.”

“Okay,” Derek said, still staring after Reid. “Okay,” he repeated, “then I'll go make sure my tent's closed and secure.” She nodded and he turned back, unsure what to think of Reid's behaviour. It didn't make any sense. Could he say _mixed signals_? Yes, he most definitely could. Well, there would be time to talk when they were on the road again. He walked up to his tent and peeked inside, making sure there was nothing on the panels that would pivot on either side to meet at the top, then he started up the closing mechanism.

Only, when he sat behind the controls, he found that it was Garcia sitting in the seat next to him. He eyed her. “What are you doing here?”

“My, I feel so welcome,” she said. “Little Baby Genius wanted to ride in the other car, so we switched places.” Derek scowled darkly at his control panel as he started the engine and manoeuvred out of the campsite. He was hoping that Penelope wouldn't bring up what she had seen that morning, but he definitely had no luck today. “What's with you and Boy Wonder?” she asked him.

He tried playing dumb. “What about us?” he sent back.

“ _What about_ ,” she pressed him, not fazed in the least by his dark scowl, “how you guys aren't together and it would never happen?”

“We're not together,” he stated, then sighed, “I'm not too sure about the last part anymore.”

“No, seriously?” She poked his arm. “You guys were snogging like there's no tomorrow. How did that happen if you guys aren't together?”

Morgan sighed. “I don't even know how it happened, to be honest.” He glanced at her, then returned his eyes to the front where he had to squeeze their little train through a narrow passage that was just barely wide enough for their vehicle. “One minute, he was yelling at me,” he said once they were on easier terrain. “Then, next thing I know, he was kissing me.”

“First time you guys kissed?” she asked. “Wow, I wouldn't have guessed. You were both clinging to each other and doing the tongue tango. It was pretty hot.”

Morgan sent her a confused look, then chuckled, shaking his head. “Man, you use the weirdest phrases I've ever heard.” He sighed again, and hit the control wheel with the palm of his left hand. “First time we kissed ever, and then the kid runs out on me and hasn't so much as looked at me since. And now he switched places with you.”

“Ouch,” Penelope grimaced. “Maybe he's just embarrassed?”

“Hell if I know,” Morgan said and glared at the road.

Some time passed in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Morgan was just thinking of putting some music on when Garcia spoke up. “Well,” she said cheerfully, no doubt wanting to dispel the tense atmosphere, “he's not a bad choice, if you decide to go for him. He's pretty and obviously smart. If you guys want babies, can I be the surrogate mommy?”

“Whoa,” Morgan slammed on the brakes and nearly veered into a ravine. “Hold on, hold on, hold on. What?!”

“Babies!” Garcia said.

There was a _beep_ and Jordan's face appeared on the windshield. Morgan ignored it. “Garcia, the guy just kissed me this morning and you're already planning babies?!”

“Guys?” Jordan waved. “Any reason we've stopped?”

“Jordan's talking to you,” Garcia pointed with a laugh.

“I heard her,” Morgan assured her.

Garcia flicked the function that would turn on the camera in their cab. “Hey Jordan. Don't worry, I'm just having fun freaking out Morgan here.”

“Can you do it when he's not driving?” the young woman replied a little tersely. “I think Reid clawed Ash's arm off.”

The blonde leaned into frame. “It hurts like hell, I'll have you know.”

Garcia laughed, but Morgan said, “Sorry, girls.” A pause. “And Reid, too.” Then he flicked the camera off and backed up a bit so he could get back onto the path. He flicked his eyes over to Garcia. “Did you tell Reid something like that, too? Is that why he's freaking out?”

“Nope,” she said with a little shrug. “I didn't really talk to him at all. Actually, I think he's avoiding me, too.”

Morgan sighed. “I just wish I could figure out what he's thinking.”

“I'll get on that,” Garcia said with a decisive nod.

“Garcia,” Morgan said warningly, “I don't want things already worse than they are.”

“I'll be subtle,” she said. Morgan looked her slowly up and down, so she huffed, “I _can_ be subtle when I want to, I'll have you know. I just choose not to. Cause, really, why hide the awesome?”

Morgan sighed deeply. “Nah, that's okay, Baby Girl.” He managed a little smile for her. “I'll take care of it. I'll just find a way to make him talk to me.”

The rest of the day went much better. He put on some music that both he and Garcia were into and they sang along with some of the songs, which was something he'd never managed to do with Reid. It made him wonder a bit what kind of music the young genius liked. Probably some old composition no one hadn't listened to in a hundred years or so. They flirted back and forth, joking around and generally having a good time. When they stopped for the night, Morgan was feeling a lot better.

Until he caught sight of Reid, that is.

Reid was heading towards the luggage car, but when he saw Morgan, he faltered, stopped, and turned around, nearly walking right in Jordan who had been following him. “Hey, watch it,” she said, making the young doctor apologize before he walked away hurriedly. He was starting to piss Morgan off a little. He didn't know what Reid's problem was, but he was not going to let him run away indefinitely. Jordan caught his eyes and tilted her head. “Is everything okay?” she asked him.

Derek scowled at the back of the train where the genius had run off. “Yeah, peachy keen,” he muttered darkly.

She followed his line of sight, then turned her gaze back to him. She regarded him quietly for a moment, then patted his arm. “C'mon,” she said, “I'm going to start setting up things so Ash can cook and I could use your help.”

Morgan sighed and finally peeled his eyes from the spot where Reid had disappeared behind the train. He looked down at Jordan and said, “Okay.” He walked to the luggage car and started unloading their food, table, grill, plates and utensils. Ashley joined them and started directing them as she cooked. Morgan couldn't see Garcia anywhere and he seriously hoped that she wasn't with Reid. He didn't need the young doctor as freaked out as he himself had felt that morning after his conversation with the bubbly tech.

That night, they had dinner together for the first time, since Reid could now eat in front of them. He sat opposite Morgan and didn't meet his eyes the entire time. Morgan tried to joke around with the girls, but his heart wasn't really into it. He was growing more and more frustrated with Reid's attitude, and he didn't know what to think of the whole situation anymore. It was like the younger man regretted kissing him. Maybe he'd just gotten carried away. But then, there was no way to explain all of the other little hints that made Morgan believe Reid was into him. There was just no way to figure out what was going on unless he had a talk with the genius. Alone. He tried to approach him after dinner, but Reid offered to help Jordan and Garcia with the dishes, so Morgan had to wait till Jordan wasn't with them, at least. Only when she left, Reid disappeared for a while, and Garcia told him to leave him to it. She said Reid needed to clear his head a bit and that he'd be sleeping in the luggage car. Until he had thought things through, he'd ride with the girls in the rear car, too.

Morgan tried not to be angry. He really tried. He let Reid have his space. He didn't try to seek him out or get him alone. He didn't even talk to him, not once. The next day, when Garcia sat in the cab with him, he didn't comment. He drove on through the day, putting on music so he didn't have to talk. The third day like this, he finally asked Garcia, “Is he done 'clearing his head' yet?”

“I'm sorry, Mocchaccino,” she said.

“I've had it, Penelope, I mean it.”

Garcia thought about it for a while. Derek focused on driving. The cliff faces seemed to become less vertical and he could see a few patches of dry, yellow grass peek out from behind rocks here and there.

“Okay, if you think it'll help,” she finally said. “I'll keep the girls busy tonight and you can go talk to him. Just,” she hesitated a moment, “don't be too hard on him.”

He frowned at her. “Hard on him?” He shook his head. “I just wanna talk.”

“I know,” she said, and silence fell once more.

They drove on through the day, heading due west once they had left the rocky terrain behind. They were finally out of the desert. Things weren't exactly lush, yet, but they started seeing more and more vegetation. There was a small town within a day's drive, where they could hopefully buy food and water to last them until Devon. By the time they stopped for the night, they had travelled a fair distance. It was still daytime, late in the afternoon, but they knew they'd reach the town around lunchtime the next day. There was no point driving till nightfall only to have to camp outside of town, waiting for supply stores to open the next day.

They settled around the table to eat. He looked up when Jordan moved closer and gave her a smile that was a little more guarded, now that he was conscious of Reid's interest. It was a little awkward, to be honest. She smiled back as she sat next to him and started putting food on her plate. Morgan helped himself to some water, then followed suit. He stole glances at Reid here and there during their meal, as they all discussed their plan for the next day. They were all looking forward to the change of pace. Not that they would stay there long, but a break in the monotony of long days sitting on seats that were only relatively comfortable would be nice. The girls started talking about eating in a nice inn, when Morgan interrupted. “I'm sorry to break it to ya, girls,” he said, “but we can't eat in town.”

“What, why?” Ashley looked rather crestfallen.

Morgan tilted his head towards Reid, who was eating silently, not really participating in the conversation. All eyes turned to him. After a moment, he realized that no one was speaking and he looked up. His eyes went from face to face. “What?” he asked uncertainly.

“He'll have to wear the disguise, right?” Jordan asked and looked at Morgan for confirmation, but it came from Penelope.

“You know we didn't do all of this to hide from you girls, right?” Garcia asked them. “Reid can now travel with us as himself, since you've found out, but when there are other people around, he'll have to hide his identity again.”

“But why?” Ashley asked curiously. She tilted her head at Reid and asked him teasingly, “Are you a prince, then?”

“Ash,” Jordan said gently, “I'm sure they have their reasons. If Penny didn't tell us the whole story, we shouldn't pry. I suppose when we do reach Varna, we'll hear the whole tale. For now, all we've got to remember is that these two need to reach the city without arousing attention from anyone, and that their identities will have to remain secret until then.” She turned to Garcia. “Am I right?”

Penelope nodded. “I swear we'll tell you the whole story when we reach our destination. Until then, I'll trust you to keep out of trouble, and be as discreet as possible.”

Ashley laughed and asked Garcia, “Can _you_ keep out of trouble?” She poked her arm lightly to show she was only teasing.

Garcia grinned. “It'll be a challenge, but I'll do my best!” She looked as Reid got up and got the coffee machine from the luggage car and started a pot. She flicked her eyes to Morgan, who shook his head. Not yet. He'd let Reid have a cup, first. She nodded and took out her tablet.

“That's ominous,” Morgan joked. “You just said you'd stay out of trouble and you then get your most formidable weapon.”

She laughed, “Just checking on Emily's progress and then I'll check on,” she tilted her head towards Reid to indicate she'd make sure his mother was all right, without letting the other girls in on their situation. “Going through proxies without being too predictable means I've got to change the algorithm that selects the proxies every single time.”

“Ah,” Morgan said and nodded like he knew what any of that meant. He wasn't dumb by any stretch of the imagination, but he was starting to feel like he was, between Garcia's technical terms and Reid's encyclopaedic knowledge of absolutely everything in the entire universe. He wondered briefly if they understood each other, then shrugged it off. If they did, good for them.

Reid helped himself to some coffee and brought a cup to Garcia, who paused in her typing only long enough to point to a spot on the table far enough from her precious tablet so an accidental spill wouldn't get on it. Morgan grabbed himself a cup, too. He sat and watched Garcia work, wondering what he was going to ask Reid and how he would approach the young doctor. For now, the younger man seemed content to drink coffee and eat dessert.

Eventually, they finished up their coffee and Reid got up to start cleaning up, when Garcia stopped him. “Leave it, gorgeous,” she said with a grin. “We'll take care of the cleanup. You look tired. Go rest.”

Reid frowned in that slightly confused expression he had sometimes, but he nodded. “Okay,” he said. His eyes flicked to Morgan, but he quickly averted his gaze when their eyes met. He sent Garcia a rather apprehensive look, but he left without raising a fuss.

Morgan watched him go and quickly finished his coffee. He set his mug down and got up, then looked at Garcia who mouthed _Go!_ He grinned at her and went after Reid. He'd figure out what was going on in the young doctor's mind. He didn't know what he was going to do about any of it, but at least tonight, he'd get some answers.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan corners Reid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _In which things ignite._

* * *

** Chapter 12 **

The sun was sinking slowly over the horizon, bathing everything in an orange glow. Even their little train looked sort of otherworldly, covered in sand and dust particle as it was. But Morgan didn't really have time to stop and admire. He had a young genius to catch.

Reid had walked towards the front of the train and then turned out of view, so the first place Morgan looked was in their tent. He kind of hoped that Reid would be there, reading on his old pad like he used to, back when things weren't so complicated. He kind of missed having Reid reading close by, explaining principles of physics or mathematics that Morgan only just barely understood. It was weird how the young doctor had just sort of grown on him, quietly, unassumingly. And yet that just described Reid in a nutshell: quietly brilliant and just absolutely amazing. Damn, Morgan was considering it. Maybe, if Reid was interested, maybe he would try it. See where it led him. If it meant that Reid would sit by him again, maybe – just maybe – Morgan would try it with him.

Judging by the way he had reacted to Reid kissing him, it was pretty clear that Derek wasn't against it. So, perhaps it was worth a try. Maybe he'd just kiss him again, see if it felt just as good the second time. Morgan walked a little faster and reached the tent. He quickly unsnapped the door, pushing the heavy fabric aside. Reid wasn't there. He looked left and right, but couldn't see him by the side of the vehicle either. He checked the front cab, which was empty. So where the hell _was_ he?!

He walked down the other side of the train and opened the door of the luggage car. No Reid. He quickly checked the girls' car and tried not to get too annoyed. He was only partially successful. Okay, so Reid wasn't in or around the train. He walked back to the front of the pull-vehicle and looked around. He took a moment to just sigh in aggravation. Blast him. He'd probably guessed Garcia had sent him away for Morgan to corner alone. Where'd he run off to this time? Derek looked around, hand on one hip, the other running over the back of his head, when he suddenly paused. In a narrow patch of loose sand, easy to miss, there were footsteps leading away, not towards the table where they had eaten, but forward, past the train. Morgan blinked and started following them. Reid had clearly walked away so he could have a bit of quiet but Derek was determined to have that talk with him. This seriously had to stop.

He finally saw the young doctor a short distance away from the camp. Reid was standing on one of those weird little rocky outcrops that dotted the panorama. He was standing with his back to the smuggler, shoulders slumped, hands in his pockets, watching the sun setting beyond the horizon. Talk about a ridiculously romantic setting. All he was missing was a beach and an ocean, and they could have the whole walk on the beach, holding hands thing.

Morgan approached him slowly, not wanting to startle the genius out of his reverie. As he walked, he observed the younger man. Reid was all bones and sharp angles. None of those sexy, womanly curves on him. He was undeniably, one hundred percent male under the loose-fitting clothes that he was wearing. Yet, there was something about him that just drew Morgan in. His quiet, tranquil strength, his large, honest eyes, his rosy lips...

Oh, for fuck's sake. He was practically writing poetry about the guy, now.

There was something... Morgan couldn't quite place it yet, but there was something about Reid that just made him want to protect him. He definitely felt some affection for him, but was it the same kind of affection that Reid felt? He wasn't sure and he wouldn't know until he managed to talk to him. And if he could just manage to confront the guy – ah, crap. Reid had just noticed his presence. He turned towards the older man and bit his lips together, oscillating on his feet as if he was battling the urge to flee yet again. He suddenly turned away and started down the far side of the outcrop He wasn't running, but if he had hoped that Morgan was going to give up just because the guy didn't want to talk to him, he was in for disappointment. Derek sped up his pace and easily caught up with the young doctor.

“Reid,” he called. “C'mon, man. I'm not going to punch you or anything so why you runnin'?” The young doctor stopped walking and hesitated, caught between the urge to flee and the need to know what Morgan was going to say. _'He's terrified,'_ Morgan realized. But what was he afraid of? That Morgan was angry? That that he would hurt him somehow? The thought that Reid might think that about him... That'd just suck. He really hoped that it wasn't the case. But then, what? Rejection. The kid was just afraid of being rejected. It was surely that. Maybe. Hopefully.

He jogged the rest of the way and caught up with the young doctor. He stopped a short distance away, not wanting to scare him off yet again. “Hey,” he said softly, as gently as he could, “talk to me. What's going on?”

“What? Nothing. I'm fine,” Reid lied and tried to smile. “I'm just tired and I don't want company right now, that's all.”

Morgan sighed. “We both know that's not true, Reid. You had no problem talking with Ashley. I'm the one you have a problem with. You don't want to talk to _me_.”

Reid shifted uncomfortably. “That, that's not how it is,” he said, unable to meet Morgan's eyes.

“And now,” the older man said, “you're lying to me.” Reid's face fell and he licked his lips, opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it again and tilted his head. He looked a bit like he was going to cry. “Talk to me,” Morgan urged again. “I want to know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours. I won't get mad, whatever you say, I promise.”

Reid shifted again, looking more and more desperate. He wanted to run. It was clear in his demeanour. “I, I need more time to think,” he finally said.

“Okay,” Morgan replied, “then start thinking. I'm listening.”

“Out loud?” Reid asked incredulously. Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “I, I can't,” Reid said with a quick shake of his head. He repeated, “I can't!” and turned around, walking away from Morgan. The smuggler sighed, uncrossed his arms and ran his hand over his head in frustration. A breath in, out, and he went after the young doctor yet again.

“Reid, c'mon, man!” He was so tired of running after this skinny white boy. “Stop tryin' to run away.” He quickly made it down the hill and followed Reid down into what looked like a dried-up creek bed.

“Just leave me alone, Morgan,” Reid said obstinately. “I don't want to talk, okay?”

He'd had it. “So, what, you gonna keep runnin' from me, is that it?” Morgan was _so_ goddamn tired of Reid's little running game. Still, he followed him up out of the creek bed and the side of another outcrop of rocks. He finally caught up with the young doctor near the top. He grabbed his arm and spun him around. “For fuck's sake, man, stop running from me!” Reid spun around and lost his footing, falling against him. Morgan put his arms around him reflexively and attempted to steady him, but the rock he was on wobbled under their combined weight and they fell backwards. “Ow, _fuck!_ ” His shoulder hit something, and it sent spikes of intense pain through his nerves. It just had to be the same shoulder he had injured in his fall after the bandit attack. Of course. Damn, but it hurt.

Reid's eyes went comically wide. He quickly pushed away from the older man. “Oh, I'm so sorry!” he said. “I'm sorry Morgan, I –” He shook his head, seemingly unsure how to communicate what he needed to say. His mouth worked wordlessly for a moment, but then he just shook his head again.

“It's okay,” Morgan said tightly. He straightened up, wincing as his shoulder protested the move. “Ow, fuck, that hurts a goddamn bitch.” He turned to see what he'd hit. Great. A stupid fucking cactus. Some of the spines had blood on them. “Now you'll have to re-bandage this shit,” he informed the younger man.

The doctor made a face. “Maybe Garcia–”

“Not a chance, Kid,” Morgan said. He heaved himself to his feet, then grabbed Reid's hand and pulled him up. “I'm sick of runnin' after you all day, every day.” Reid tried to wriggle his hand free, but Morgan held him fast and started pulling him back towards their camp.

Reid stumbled after him, tripping over his feet and just about every single rock jutting out of the ground. “Morgan,” he protested, trying to free his hand. “Morgan, I can walk on my own. Let go of my hand!”

“No. No way. You're lucky I didn't just haul you over my shoulder to carry you back. And,” Morgan added, stopping suddenly and turning around to face the younger man. He threw Reid a very serious look and pointed a warning finger at his chest with his free hand, “I can still do it.”

The younger man fell silent and his lips drew a thin line. He was definitely annoyed, but he couldn't be more irritated than Derek was feeling right now. Morgan sighed noisily and started walking again, still dragging him along. Reid followed in silence. He still tried to wriggle his hand free, but the smuggler wouldn't let him. They made their way back to camp. Garcia was the first to see them, and she looked from one to the other worryingly. She tried to smile, but caught Morgan's closed-off expression and her smile fell a bit. Jordan looked at them with an oddly penetrating look, and Ashley gave a little wave and a hopeful look that Morgan didn't quite understand. He didn't stop to talk to them. He pulled Reid right up into what was _supposed_ to be _their_ tent, but had been Morgan's alone for the past while. He placed himself between Reid and the door, then finally let go, putting his hands on his hips and scowling at the young doctor. Reid looked a bit angry for a moment, but as Morgan glared at him, he started looking more nervous than annoyed.

“Um,” Reid said after an entirely too long, too uncomfortable moment had passed. “Your wound, should I uh...”

“ _Fuck_ the wound,” Morgan said harshly, which made Reid jump slightly. “Why'd you keep runnin' from me these past few days?”

“I don't know what you're –”

“Do _not_ insult my intelligence, Reid.” Morgan knew he was glowering and possibly scaring the kid, but he was beyond annoyed, at this point. “You been runnin' like hell whenever you see me like I'm some goddamn rapist, and you think that's not gonna piss me off a little? Dammit, Reid, what are you scared I'm gonna do, huh?”

“I, I don't know,” Reid admitted. “Look, you're mad I kissed you, and I get that –”

“I'm not!” Morgan said vehemently.

“What?” Reid blinked, the rant he was preparing to give effectively cut short before it had really started.

“Haven't you listened to a single word I said?” Morgan threw his hands up in frustration. “I'm not mad you kissed me, I never was. I'm mad,” he sighed and ran both his hands over his head. When he spoke again, his voice was much calmer. “I'm mad because you keep fleeing from me. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to know what's going on.” Reid licked his lips and shifted. His eyes met Morgan's, slid away, back to glance at him before he looked down, worrying his lower lip between his teeth nervously. Derek was surprised to find out he was itching to comfort him, in spite of how annoyed he was with the guy, right now. He pushed the odd feeling down. “C'mon, Reid,” he prompted softly. “Tell me what's going on.” Reid shook his head rapidly, causing Morgan to sigh. “When did it start?” he wanted to know.

“When did what start?” Playing dumb wasn't going to work, but Reid tried anyway.

“Look, man,” Derek said, “you can stand here and pretend you kissed me on a whim, but I think I know you well enough by now to know you wouldn't just do that on impulse. You probably been thinking about it a while, but I didn't see it. So when did this start?”

“I don't know,” Spencer said hesitantly. “I, I think it just sort of developed slowly.”

“Okay, then, when did you first realize?”

“Must we really talk about this?” Reid asked, somewhat plaintively. “Can't you just, just let me down and we can forget this ever happened?”

“You think that's what I'm gonna do?” Morgan frowned, not quite upset, but still somewhat unsettled. “I'm not just going to arbitrarily decide to turn you down like that. I need to know what's going on before I decide what to do about it.”

“You're going to turn me down anyway,” Reid said obstinately. “Can't you just spare me the humiliation of telling you the specifics?”

“Damnit, Reid!” Derek growled. “You're starting to really piss me off, here.” He advanced on him and Reid backed away from Morgan, which kind of hurt. But Morgan wouldn't let him run, anymore. “Have you been paying attention? Cause you'd know why I'm pissed right now.”

“Wh-wha...?” Reid just looked more and more nervous and when his back collided with the hard metal of the door that led into the cab of the vehicle, he couldn't back away anymore.

Morgan placed his hands on either side of the young doctor, leaving him nowhere to run. “Damn it, Kid, I thought you were supposed to be a genius,” he said, leaning into Reid's personal space. The younger man licked his lips slowly and Morgan's control just snapped. He pursued that tongue, tilting his head, lips pressing against lips, tongue in Reid's mouth. The young doctor gasped and Morgan pressed against him. He felt Reid hesitate, then the younger man's fingers tightened in the fabric of his sleeves and his tongue darted forward to dance against Morgan's.

The second kiss was even better than the first.

They parted, met, parted again. When Morgan took a half-step back, they were both struggling a bit to keep their breathing even. “See? The kiss definitely isn't what I'm angry about, Reid,” he said again.

“Oh,” was the answer he got.

He chuckled. “Yeah. Why did you run?”

“I thought,” Reid shifted uncomfortably, “I thought you were mad at me for kissing you. I thought you wanted to tell me to leave you alone.”

“Uh,” Morgan said, “didn't you feel me kiss you back?”

“No,” Reid said and his eyes couldn't quite meet Morgan's. “I was a bit too distracted with how good it felt and how dizzy I got all of a sudden.”

Morgan blinked. Reid's blunt and honest answer did a funny little thing inside him, a bit like a twist-pull somewhere in the middle of his chest. He couldn't help but grin. “All right then, lover boy,” he said. “Wanna do it again?”

“Oh, gods, _yes!_ ” Reid breathed out, and Morgan indulged him. He leaned forward and brushed their lips together, softly, gently. He breathed in the air that left Reid's lungs, his hands slowly sliding down the metal door until they found Reid's hips. He pulled him closer even as he pushed forward, pressing him into the door. Reid let out a soft exhale of air. For some reason, that soft, barely audible sound was the most erotic thing Morgan had ever heard. “Morgan,” Reid whispered softly, somewhat desperately.

“I know,” Morgan replied. “I know, baby.” His fingertips dug into Reid's hips, his entire front pressed against him. He thought he should feel weirded out that he was pressed so intimately against a body that was so definitely male, but he just felt good. Maybe a bit curious. When Reid sought out his lips again, Morgan chuckled and ducked his head teasingly, until the younger man huffed in amused annoyance. Derek laughed again, and pressed his lips on Reid's, mouth closed and keeping it chaste for now. Reid's arms slid up and around the back of his neck, and he pushed forward into the older man's embrace. Morgan thought he should feel a little more uncomfortable than he did. It's not that he _wanted_ to feel uncomfortable. But he didn't know what to think about how this was so goddamn easy.

He angled his head and deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding over Reid's mouth until the young doctor parted his lips with a soft, keening sound that made Morgan growl in response. He pressed into him, pinning him to the door and his right thigh pushed between Reid's, making both of them gasp, effectively breaking the kiss. They panted softly for a moment, before Reid caught his lips again. Morgan's fingertips dug into the younger man's hips and he broke the kiss to start nipping at Reid's jaw. It was amazing just how fast things were heating up. Now Morgan had never put much importance on the gender of the people involved in a relationship, he'd just never felt attracted to a guy before. But this was changing. Fast. From the moment he'd felt Reid's lips on his, it was like he was hooked. And Morgan had never been one to deny himself something that felt so good.

Reid raked his hands down his shoulders and Morgan tensed, cursing under his breath. “Ow, fuck. Reid, the shoulder, watch the shoulder!” He pulled away to look at the younger man, and found him blinking owlishly at Derek, lips pink, moist and swollen, hair sticking up in every direction and his gaze vague and unfocused.

“Hu-wha...” Something seemed to have completely short-circuited the younger man's cognitive abilities. He had this _I've just had Morgan's tongue kiss-fucking me_ look that made the smuggler groan softly and press back against him for another one of those hot, deep kisses. After this, they would have to have his wounds re-bandaged, but for the moment, he figured he deserved a little honey.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two romantic fools.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Morgan and Reid ended up being stupidly romantic little nuggets. Hopefully it's not too much._

* * *

  **Chapter 13 **

Morgan woke up the next morning and couldn't stop himself from immediately looking around for Reid. He nearly expected the guy to have disappeared on him again, but the young doctor was sprawled on his front on the air mattress, totally oblivious to the world. Morgan thought that they could have technically shared a bed at this point, but things had heated up so fast the previous night, and Reid? Reid had gotten awkward. Morgan wasn't entirely surprised. Reid was nervous about everything, right down to his shoe size, so the smuggler would have been more concerned if the guy _hadn't_ freaked. Not that he had panicked, but the moment he had started reacting a bit, he backtracked so damn fast, Morgan was surprised it didn't leave skid marks on his skin. So after that, it had felt like a better idea to just sleep separately.

Morgan pushed himself up with a grunt and wandered over to Reid's bed. He took a moment to just look at the young doctor. Reid was ridiculously pretty, he decided. He sat on the edge of the mattress and poked his shoulder gently. There was no response, but Morgan hadn't expected any. He grinned. He had half mind to try tickling Reid to see if that'd rouse him. Oh, it was tempting, so tempting.

He gave in and ran his fingers lightly over Reid's side, trying to see if the kid was ticklish. Reid made a soft protesting sound and sleepily batted his hand away. Morgan grinned and did it again. Reid grunted and tried to move away. Derek chuckled. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” he said, poking him in the ribs. “Maybe you want a kiss to wake you up this time?”

“I wanted one the first time,” Reid mumbled into his pillow. Morgan blinked. Well, that could easily be arranged. Morgan pressed a hand on the small of Reid's back and leaned over him. Spencer still had his head buried in his pillow, so Derek nuzzled the side of his neck, chuckling softly. Reid made a small, protesting sound. “Your beard is itchy,” he said, trying to wriggle away.

Morgan laughed, “Then turn around so I can kiss you.”

“Haven't brushed my teeth yet,” Reid protested.

Morgan paused. “Seriously? You think that'll bother me?”

Reid finally tilted his head up and cracked one eye open. He looked at Morgan for a moment, then he finally shifted over to face him. Morgan leaned over him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. He didn't really know where Reid's limits were, and he didn't want to freak him out again. As for Derek, well, he'd had his freakout of a sort after Reid had kissed him for the first time. He didn't really over-think things the way Reid did. Kissing Spencer felt really nice, and that was good enough for Morgan. He started pulling away, but Reid hooked an arm around the back of his head and pulled him back down for another kiss. He moaned softly and Morgan's lips got greedier. He nibbled at his lips and delved in for a deeper kiss. Reid groaned softly.

Bloody hell!

This was getting kind of dangerous, and Morgan didn't want Reid to freak out again, so he forced himself to pull away. “I'mma get you coffee, okay?” he said.

Reid blinked blearily up at him. “Coffee?” There was a hopeful undertone in his question that made Morgan chuckle.

“Yeah. I'll be back, a'right?” Reid nodded and Morgan forced himself away. Damn, but he was being good. He walked to the door and hopped off the platform. He walked to the luggage car. They could take their time to leave today, but Morgan was a morning person, and he just couldn't sleep anymore. He set things up for breakfast and coffee, and started the machine up so he could have a bit of caffeine.

Soon, Ashley wandered out of the girls' tent and stretched, hiding a yawn behind the back of one hand. “Morning,” she said, walking over. “Sleep okay?”

Morgan nodded and handed her the first cup of coffee. She refused it with a bright, happy smile and put some water to boil. Morgan belatedly remembered she preferred tea over coffee. “Yeah, you?” He figured Reid had probably gone back to sleep, so he fixed the mug for himself instead, adding a bit of cream before taking a sip.

Ashley nodded, too. “I think I'm getting used to this life on the road thing. I don't know how you do it.” She probably thought him a Touareg still, but she wasn't too far-off on the kind of life he did lead. She paused for a moment and hesitated. Morgan tilted his head, wondering what was holding her up. It wasn't like her to hold things in. “Are you,” she finally began, “are you and Reid okay?” She looked up at him worriedly. “He was avoiding you after the attack and, well, I was worried that, you know... that you might have been having a spat.”

“Well,” Morgan said uncomfortably, “he was really mad at me for scaring him.” This much should be safe enough to share, right? “Called me some mile-long name I doubt I've ever come across before in my life, but I'm pretty sure it was an insult.” He chuckled. “But you get used to that, with Reid. Not understanding every word he says, I mean.”

“I noticed,” Ashley laughed. “He talked a lot more when he was in the car with Jordan and me than before we knew he was a guy. I had no idea what he was talking about most of the time!”

“Yeah, sounds like Reid.” He attempted to deflect the conversation. “The others should be up soon. Want help with breakfast?” His tactic worked and they got things ready, then Morgan went back to his tent with Reid's coffee. The young doctor had indeed gone back to sleep. Morgan sat on the edge of the mattress again and patted his hip. “Reid, coffee,” he said.

Reid groaned and pushed himself up to a seated position. Morgan grinned and held his mug just out of reach. He chuckled and leaned in for a kiss, then finally let Reid have his mug. “I should've tried kissing you awake sooner,” he commented. “I don't think I've ever managed to get you to be actually conscious at this hour.” Reid sent him a look over the rim of his mug. Morgan grinned at him. “I'm gonna go grab breakfast, okay?”

Reid nodded, clinging sleepily to his coffee. Morgan ruffled his hair and hopped out of the tent again. He had breakfast with the girls, chatting and joking easily. Since they were going into town, they decided to try and wash off the grime of the desert before they left that morning. Ashley and Garcia left together, and Morgan tried really hard not to think naughty thoughts. But c'mon. He stood and started clearing the table. Jordan got up as well, but she walked towards him and leaned back against the table, facing him. “Hey,” she said with an inviting smile.

Morgan arched an eyebrow. “Hey,” he replied cautiously.

She looked him slowly up and down. “So,” she began, “When we reach Varna, are you going to fly off?”

“That's the plan, yeah,” he said.

She took a step closer and trailed her finger gently down his arm. “I'd love to get off this rock,” she said, and tilted her head. She stepped even closer, invading his personal space. She had her boobs pushed up against his chest, and Morgan couldn't find it in himself to feel remotely interested. There was something definitely off with him, and he knew just what it was. It was kind of weird to think that two weeks ago, he'd have been ready to hit that hot number in no time flat, and that now she seemed a pretty but otherwise boring plaything at best.

“Um,” he began, and tried to take a step back. “You know, Jordan, I uh –”

“Don't tell me you're not interested,” she said with a flirty smile. Her fingertips ghosted over his arm again. “I could tell you were looking at me, from the minute you walked in that theatre basement.”

Morgan had to resist the urge to laugh. Yeah, he'd been interested _then_. “Jordan,” he tried again. “You know, I ah –” He wasn't sure how to say this. He couldn't bank on the fact he had a wi– well, husband, cause he wasn't _actually_ married to Reid. And they weren't even going out. A few kisses didn't make a relationship. And it wasn't like he was wishing for a relationship with Reid, he just... wasn't really interested in kissing Jordan, that was all.

“Come on, now.” Jordan said, trying to sound confident, but Morgan could see doubt start to trickle into her expression. “You know you want me.”

“Uh,” Morgan tried to step back. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Reid get out of their tent and glance at them.

“Hey, Morgan,” he greeted easily and Derek had to resist the urge to fling Jordan away from him. That'd just make this situation look even more awkward. “Hello, Jordan.” Thankfully, Reid seemed entirely oblivious to the whole thing. He walked towards them. Knowing him, he was probably just going for another cup of coffee. Jordan took a step back. Another thing to be thankful for.

The young doctor made his way over to them and Morgan couldn't help the grin that pulled at his lips. “Hey Reid,” he greeted. “Am I gl– mff!”

He suddenly found himself with an armful of Reid. The young doctor was pressed against him, arms around the back of his neck, and his lips were on Morgan's and his tongue pushing into his mouth. There was that taste of strong, sweet coffee that Morgan had come to associate with the younger man, and he closed his arms reflexively around his waist. He groaned into the kiss and pulled Reid flush against his front. Reid's lips were against his own, their tongues were sliding together, tasting, caressing and the young doctor whimpered – _whimpered!_ – against his mouth.

It was all Morgan could do not to pick the younger man up, throw him over his shoulder and carry him back towards his tent. As it was, Reid broke the kiss, cleared his throat, swallowed and took a step back. Morgan licked his lips and took a step back as well. He could see Jordan's surprised face out of his peripheral vision, but his eyes were fixed on Reid. His lips were moist and dark and _fuck_ , but Morgan was dying to kiss him again.

“I ah,” Reid cleared his throat and ran his fingers behind his ears, trying to push back rebellious strands of hair. It was a partial success at best. “Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt.” He made his way to the coffee machine and refilled his mug. Morgan watched him for a moment, then his eyes slid to Jordan. She shifted uncomfortably. Reid fixed his coffee with cream and sugar. “I'll be over there,” he said, pointing to a little rocky outcrop.

“Okay,” Morgan said, because he really didn't know what else to say. He watched him shuffle away. The poor kid couldn't even look at their faces. He was probably embarrassed as hell. Morgan was kind of shocked that Reid kissed him in front of someone like this. He didn't think the kid was the type. Reid disappeared over the ridge, leaving Morgan alone with Jordan once more. They glanced at each other and she cleared her throat.

“Well, I, uh,” she began, but then fell silent, unsure of what to say next.

“Yeah,” Morgan said and chuckled a little nervously. “That was a, 'get your paws offa my man' if I ever saw one.”

“Yeah,” she said and tried to laugh too. “I think I got the message.” She cleared her throat. “I'm sorry, for...” She hesitated, unsure how to finish her sentence. In the end, she shrugged. “I thought, well, I thought you guys weren't actually together. You know, part of the ruse like him being a girl. I probably misread some things. I'm sorry.”

Morgan shuffled uncomfortably. “Look,” he said, “I'm not gonna lie. You're hot as all get out. If the situation wasn't what it is, I'd have been interested. So you weren't entirely off the mark, and I guess I'm to blame, too.”

Jordan relaxed visibly. “Thanks,” she said. “For saying that. Honestly, it's the best 'no thanks' I ever got.” She grinned. “Message received though. I'm not a home wrecker. Your husband doesn't have to worry about me.” She laughed. “Poor guy looked mortified. I'm kind of sorry for making him do that. He doesn't seem the type for PDA.”

Morgan shifted uncomfortably. The fact he and Reid weren't actually married was on the tip of his tongue, but then, it might send the wrong signals again. “Yeah, not so much,” he said instead. “Tell you what, though. You should talk to him. Just tell him what you told me about the mixed signals. He'll understand.”

She made a face. “You sure?” she asked. “I kind of don't know how to face him right now.”

He laughed. “Doesn't have to be now. But he'll appreciate the honesty. I don't think he'll hold a grudge. He knew I thought you were attractive. I kind of told him.”

She eyed him. “You're an idiot, you know that?”

He laughed. “Yeah, I probably am. But I'm an honest idiot. Wanna help me clean this up?” He motioned to the breakfast table. She nodded. They worked quickly, chatting, laughing. Non stop banter. Morgan was glad things weren't too awkward anymore. Jordan was a cool chick. She was sharp and not afraid to speak her mind. She reminded him of Désirée, in a way.

When they had put everything away, Jordan went to clean up a bit, then Morgan did the same in his tent. Clean, shaved and wearing a fresh set of clothes, he felt loads better. He had to get Reid so the kid could do the same. He left their camp and went towards the ridge where Reid had disappeared earlier. “Reid?!” he called. “Reid, where are you?!” He stopped halfway up the ridge and looked back, wondering if the kid had gone back to the camp. He could see Penelope and Jordan. Ashley was probably in the girls' car. No Reid. He jogged to the top. “Reid?” he called again and heaved himself up onto a large boulder. “Reid! There you are! Man, you had me worried!”

The young doctor was standing with his back to Morgan. Something seemed to have caught his attention because he didn't seem to hear the older man. He just stood there, unmoving. Apprehension trickled through Morgan's thoughts as he noticed the unnatural stillness in the other man. He looked frozen in place. “Reid?” he asked. “You OK, man?”

“Shhh!” Spencer motioned with his hand for Morgan to quiet down. “It'll hear you!”

“What'll hear me?” Derek asked, much more quietly this time. “What's going on?”

“Careful!” Reid hissed softly. “It's dangerous. It's probably hungry. It keeps staring at me with these evil eyes that –”

There was a sudden, loud barking sound and Spencer jumped and took a step back. Morgan drew his gun and rushed forward, expecting some large wolf-beast the size of a horse or something. He pushed Reid out of the way, placing himself in front of him like a human shield and pointed his gun at... a German Shepherd. He blinked. The dog barked in a friendly manner and wagged its tail. Morgan lowered his gun, feeling somewhat silly for having waved it threateningly at something that turned out to be inoffensive. “Man!” He turned and shoved Reid lightly. “You scared the hell outta me, Reid! Don't do that again!”

“It was threatening me,” the younger man defended. “Just look at it!”

Morgan looked at it. The dog barked again and wagged its tail, then cocked his head. “It's not threatening you, Reid. If anything, it looks like it wants to play.”

“I don't want to play with a hell-hound!”

The dog barked again, and Morgan wondered if if felt affronted. “Hey buddy,” he said, and patted his thigh.

Spencer clawed at his shoulder. Thankfully, it wasn't his injured one. “Don't call it over! What if it eats us?”

“Reid,” Morgan said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes, “it's a _dog_.”

“The common dog is actually a subspecies of the grey wolf,” Spencer insisted. “In ancient literature, wild dogs are said to eat the flesh of people and –”

The dog barked again and Reid stiffened. Morgan laughed, “I can't believe you're scared of a dog.” He turned back to the dog. “Hey there, buddy. What'cha doin' out here alone?” He looked around, trying to find if he could spot where the dog had come from. “Guess we should bring it into town and try to find its owner, or something.”

“What? No!” Reid shook his head vehemently. “It found its way here, it can find its way back!”

“Aw, c'mon, now.” Morgan turned towards Reid. “It's not a wolf, it's not a wild beast, it's just a dog.” Reid pursed his lips. “I'll put him in the luggage car?” Morgan suggested. “Or maybe with the girls, but he's kind of big to ride with them. We'll just take him to town, ask around for his owner and that'll be it.”

Reid made a face. “What if it bites?” he asked moodily.

Morgan sighed. “If we leave him out here, he could die, y'know.”

Reid opened his mouth, frowned, closed it, and Morgan knew he had him. “All right,” Reid grumbled. “Just, just keep it away from me.”

Morgan grinned. “Don't worry, princess. I'll protect you!”

Reid sent him a moody look and Morgan grinned and chuckled. “C'mon, boy!” He patted his thigh and the dog trotted over to him. Reid tensed so Morgan put his arm around his shoulder and turned around, heading back towards the camp.

Behind them, the German Shepherd trotted happily.

* * *


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clooney tries to get Reid to like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This chapter was hard to write! I hope it came out all right. Also, UST? RELEVANT (to my interests)._

* * *

** Chapter 14 **

The girls took to the dog right away. Ashley squealed when she saw him and exclaimed, “Where did you find him? Oh, he's so _gorgeous!_ ”

“Reid found him,” Morgan said, “sort of.”

Jordan leaned down and the dog happily trotted over to her. He wagged its tail excitedly, making his whole back end wiggle too. She scratched his head. “Hey there, buddy,” she said, “aren't you a good boy!”

The dog barked happily and ran circles around her a couple of times. Garcia chuckled. Morgan grinned at Reid with an obvious air of, _'See? What'd I tell you? Totally harmless!'_ Reid shrugged and went to the coffee machine to fill the self-heating container that he always drank from when they were on the road. Morgan sighed, but let the matter drop entirely. “All right,” he said instead, “is everything all packed up? Cause I'd like to get going.”

“Yup,” Garcia said with a grin. “Other than the coffee machine, we're all packed up and ready to roll!”

Reid finished with the coffee machine and put it in its carry-bag, then placed that in the luggage car. Morgan folded the table and they both put that away too. Then, came the question of where the dog would ride. In the end, because there was no room in the girls' cab and Reid didn't want it with him, Ashley took Spencer's place in the front car and the dog climbed in with them. Reid went to sit in the other car with Garcia and Jordan. Morgan hoped that they were okay. Things were bound to be a little awkward between Reid and Jordan. Still it was better for, for whatever was going on between Reid and him that Jordan rode in the other car for now.

He put some music on and they were on their way. It took them a few hours to reach the settlement. When they were just out of view, he stopped the little train and they all got out to stretch their legs a bit. “Yay!” Garcia exclaimed excitedly as soon as she stepped out. “Shopping trip!”

Morgan eyed her. “We're going to shop for _supplies_ , Garcia,” he said warningly. “Not clothes or accessories.”

“I'm sure we'll have time for both,” Penelope said with a sweet smile.

“I think I'll stay here,” Reid said.

Morgan turned to him. “What? No way, man.”

“Morgan,” Reid said calmly, “if I stay behind, I get to read in peace and be alone for a bit. And you guys get to eat something in a restaurant or something. We'll all have a much better afternoon out of it.”

Morgan made a face. “I don't like leaving you alone like this, Reid,” he said. He ignored Ashley's, “Aww!” and camped himself in front of him. “You'd better be right here when we get back,” he warned.

Reid had one of his shy, little smiles. “I'll be here,” he assured. “Just leave the last car and I'll settle in the cab with my reading pad. I'll be fine.”

Morgan eyed him doubtfully, but then he relented, “All right. Just don't wander off.” He unhooked the last car from the little train.

To his surprise, Jordan offered, “I'm going to stay with him, all right?” Reid sent her a startled look and Morgan looked from one to the other hesitantly. “Reid and I have some things to patch up,” she said. “Once we're done talking,” she told Reid, “I'll leave you alone. Let's open up the tent so we both have an alone space to go back to.”

In the end, they went with that suggestion, even though Morgan felt kind of apprehensive about this whole thing. They went into town and Garcia dragged him into a shopping spree that ended up having more to do with what she called _'nifty trinkets'_ than with supplies. Ashley managed to bring her back on track, something that amazed the smuggler. She made it look so easy. No matter what Morgan said, Garcia just went on and on, but a few words from Ashley and they were looking at water tanks again. After they had bought everything they needed, they stopped for a quick lunch in a little restaurant that called itself a _western diner_ , whatever that meant. After lunch, Garcia said, “I'll be right back!” and she left Morgan and Ashley at the diner. Morgan was kind of apprehensive, but he let her go. She was back pretty soon, with a bag. His concern rose. “Here,” Garcia said, and handed him the bag. “Bought this for you.” He was about to peek in, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I would until you're alone to open it,” she cautioned.

“Garcia,” he said warningly.

“What?” She shrugged. “You'll need that eventually.” And she gave him her most innocent look. It didn't work.

“You're meddling again,” he said with a sigh and shook his head. But there was a small smile on his lips.

“Oh, my chocolate cupcake, meddling is my life goal.” She grinned cheekily up at him and he chuckled in response, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and placing a kiss on the top of her head. “I even found some that's coffee flavoured, in case you have trouble convincing him to... you know.” Morgan chuckled and shook his head. She hit a little too close to home with this one.

“What'd you buy?” Ashley asked curiously.

“Secret!” Garcia said. “All right! Ready to rock?”

“Ready to roll,” Morgan answered.

Right then, an older man walked into the diner and asked at large, “Is that Clooney, waiting by the door?”

The waitress went to investigate. “It is! It's Clooney! Poor dog,” she said and shook her head.

Morgan tilted his head. He looked out the window. The dog they had found was the only one in sight, so it was safe to assume they were talking about him. “Scuse me,” he said, “you know that dog? We found him out in the wild.”

“Yeah, it's Clooney. Old Ryder's dog.”

“Yeah,” the patron who had just walked in added, “but Jason Ryder died last week in a mining accident. The poor dog's been kinda lost since.”

“Poor thing,” the waitress said with a shake of her head.

Morgan turned and looked at the dog pensively. Just as he was making up his mind, Garcia commented, “Reid's going to kill you.” She was grinning, though. “You know how, how she is about the dog...”

“Reid?” the patron asked.

“His wife, Rhydonia,” Garcia answered right away. “She's kind of scared of the dog.”

The patron relaxed a bit and said, “Oh.” Morgan didn't like this. He didn't like this at all. It seemed to him that the man might have heard Reid's name somewhere. This could mean there was a price on their head or information about their whereabouts. He put his mask on. He had started shaving his beard in a goatee rather than leave it scruffy, but if people looked at him a little too closely, they might recognize him anyway. He motioned to the girls to head out. He paid for their meal, left a generous tip and assured the waitress that he would take Clooney and take care of him. They made a stop at the market to buy dog food. When they were finally heading back to where they'd left Reid and Jordan, more than three hours had passed.

They found the car easily enough and Morgan reattached it to the luggage car. Reid stepped out of the cab, followed by Jordan who gave Morgan a discreet thumbs up. The younger man smiled at Morgan, and then he caught sight of the dog. His smile slipped. “Morgan,” he said, eyes fixed on the canine, “the dog is still here.”

“Yup,” Morgan said easily. “His owner died. His name's Clooney. He's coming with us.” He smooched Reid on the lips, grinned and walked back to the front of the train calling, “Clooney, c'mere, boy.” The dog barked happily and followed him, climbing into the cab of the pull vehicle happily. Morgan didn't expect Reid to join him, since Clooney was there, but the young doctor got in anyway. He closed the door and squished himself against it, trying to stay as far away from the dog as he could. Clooney barked a greeting and Reid jumped a little. Morgan laughed. “All right, you two, settle down.” They waited a few minutes until Garcia pinged them to say that the girls' tent had finished closing. Morgan grinned at the younger man. “All set?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Reid said, keeping his eyes on the dog.

“Then let's go!” Morgan said with a grin and started the engine.

“I've been replaced by a dog,” Reid commented and shook his head.

Morgan laughed. “Aw, Spencer's jealous of a pet,” he teased, which earned him one of those part-amused, part-annoyed looks that Reid was so good at. Then the younger man dug his reading pad from his bag and started reading. The rest of the day was spent in silence, but it wasn't tense. Reid was pointedly ignoring both the dog and Morgan, but it was okay. He knew the kid would come around eventually. As the sun started going down, he flicked his eyes over to the younger man. Reid had fallen asleep, his head against the side door. Clooney was on the floor at his feet, with just his head on Reid's knee, looking up at him with patient eyes that seemed to Morgan like he was saying, “I'll make you like me, just you wait.” He couldn't hide his grin at the sight.

It was getting dark, but he decided to drive for a little longer. Just because. He only killed the engine when the night was completely dark around them. Reid stirred a bit and cracked one eye open. “We're stopping?” he asked and hid a yawn behind the back of his hand.

“Yeah,” Morgan said, and he opened his door. “It's getting too dark to drive safely.”

Reid nodded, then looked down and blinked at Clooney. The dog looked up at him, moving his brows into a near-pleading look. Reid looked down at him. Clooney stared right back. Morgan paused outside of the vehicle, waiting to see what would happen. This scene was kind of too funny and too precious to miss at the same time. “Um,” Reid said uncertainly after a moment, “hello, there... dog.”

“His name's Clooney,” Morgan reminded him.

“Hey Clooney,” Reid said and gave the dog an awkward pat-pat on the top of his head. Clooney made a soft _woof_ sound and sniffed up at his hand eagerly, then he got up and ran out of the cab through Morgan's open door.

“See?” Morgan said with a grin. “Dog totally loves you.”

Reid didn't comment, but he gave him a mock-glare and got out of the cab too. They opened up the tents and joined the girls for dinner. They all chatted happily back and forth. After dinner, Morgan said, “Garcia?” She turned to him. “Can you ah, keep an eye on what's going on around this place?” He gestured vaguely at the sky.

She looked from him to Reid, and back to him. He hoped she'd understand what he was referring to. She did. “The entire planet? That's a bit much, even for me. But they don't call me the goddess of all things digital for nothing. I'll let you know if I find anything.”

“Thanks,” he said, and got up. “I'm gonna turn in for today. Reid, you comin'?”

Reid looked up. “Hmm?” He blinked. “I'll finish my cup and follow you. Be there in a minute.”

Morgan nodded and saluted the girls with an easy grin, then turned around and started walking towards the tent. Garcia called after him, “Don't forget to unwrap your present!” and he waved an acknowledgement without turning back to look at her. Clooney followed him. He seemed to have adopted Morgan over the others. Once in the tent, he glanced into the bag Garcia had given. Bottles of lubricant. He had expected it, but he still shook his head and put them away. A few minutes later, Reid walked in. He paused when he saw the dog, but Clooney just walked to him, sat and wagged his tail. Reid hesitated, then gave his head a shy little pat-pat again. Then he walked over to Morgan who had stood up when the young doctor had stepped in.

“Hey,” Reid said, with one of his shy little smiles.

“Hey,” Morgan replied, and he grinned at him.

Reid shifted. “So, um,” he started, then cleared his throat. “I kind of really want to kiss you right now.”

“So do it,” Morgan replied. “Where's that confidence from this morning, hmm? You walked up to me and snogged me breathless right in front of Jordan.”

Reid looked down at the floor in embarrassment. “The dog's here.”

Morgan didn't see what was wrong with that so he asked, “So?”

“So,” Reid began, then he shifted uncomfortably, “I don't want him to watch me ah, _snog you breathless._ Can you just um, send him outside?”

Morgan chuckled and shook his head. “Clooney, out.” He wasn't sure the dog would listen to him, since he didn't know what he'd been taught, but Clooney got up and walked out of their tent, his nails clicking on the stairs. Morgan turned back to Reid. “See?” he said, “You only needed to ask.”

Reid huffed softly, but he walked closer, and it was all Morgan wanted. He wrapped an arm around him when Reid leaned in. A short hesitation, and Reid's lips were on his again. It was just crazy. The clumsy, hesitant kisses he got from Reid were somehow more of a turn-on than anything he'd had before. When he moved to break the kiss, Reid grabbed the sides of his head and pulled him back in. He laughed, a low rumble in his throat. Well, if this was how Reid wanted it, he was totally okay with that. He tilted his head and swiped his tongue over Reid's lips once, waited a bit so Reid would get what he wanted, and when he did it again, Reid's tongue came out to dance with his. A nip at his lower lip, and Morgan pulled away. He let himself fall onto the sofa and patted the seat next to him. “C'm'ere,” he said.

Reid did. “What was the present Garcia mentioned?”

Morgan eyed him for a moment, wondering if telling him would be a little too much for him. Finally, he decided to test his limits. He handed him the bag. “Here,” he said airily, but his eyes were intensely focused on Reid's face to catch his expression. “This is what she got me. Well, us, I suppose.”

Reid peered curiously into the bag and pulled out one of the bottles. “Coffee flavoured lubricant? Why would you want to add flavour to lubricant? Doesn't it go in one's rectum?”

Morgan blinked at him. Well, at least the kid knew that much. He'd been so skittish the previous day, he'd started to wonder if he's have to treat him like a nervous little virgin. “It's to make it taste better when giving oral or rimming,” he answered, eyes still fixed on Reid. The young doctor nodded in what nearly seemed a clinical manner and put the bottle back in.

He drew another. “Chocolate?” He popped the top open and sniffed at it. He put it back and picked up the last one. “And strawberry.” He tilted his head and put it back. Then he set the bag down on the floor and finally noticed Morgan's eyes on him. He hesitated. “What?” he finally asked.

“You keep surprising me,” Morgan laughed softly. “Now, you gotta let me give you a proper kiss.”

Reid looked at him in confusion. “I thought we had just done that,” he said questioningly.

“Nah, Reid,” Morgan said, “a proper kiss doesn't end until you're hard.” He leaned in and kissed him again, but this time, there was no pretences, no chaste peck of the lips. It was hot and dirty, his tongue exploring Reid's mouth, his right hand raking down Reid's side. The younger man gasped and one of his hands wrapped around the back of Morgan's neck. Then he groaned, answering in kind. His other hand pressed down on Morgan's thigh. He twisted his body so he could kiss Morgan more easily. Derek used his movement to guide him onto his lap, so Reid was straddling him. He broke the kiss, his teeth pulling gently at Reid's lower lip as he let go. He mouthed down the line of his jaw and the side of his neck, eliciting a soft “Oh!” from the younger man.

Morgan's hands pulled impatiently at the sash, and it came undone, sliding off easily. The tunic Reid was wearing had a zipper at the front, and Morgan caught the pull tab and looked up to catch Reid's eyes. The young doctor looked down at him, his eyelids lowered, his lips still wet from their kiss and _fuck_ but Morgan wanted him. He kind of hoped Reid wouldn't freak out this time. It'd been so long since he'd actually had a partner. That was the inconvenience of travelling all of the time. Morgan slowly lowered the slider, his eyes still locked on Reid's. The younger man bit his lower lip, but didn't say anything or move at all. He just looked down at Morgan with a near desperate look in his eyes.

Finally, the fabric parted and Morgan slid his hands inside, placing them over Reid's hips over the trousers he was wearing with the tunic. “This okay?” he asked, because he wanted to make sure the young doctor wouldn't freak on him again. Reid nodded and bit a little harder on his lip. Morgan ran his hands up his sides and Spencer finally released his lower lip and let out a soft moan. Morgan's fingers tightened on him. “Reid,” he said seriously, “tell me if you're not okay with anything, but tonight, I'd really like to –”

He never finished his sentence. Outside, muffled by the soundproof material of the tent, Clooney started barking and growling. He heard Garcia cry out something. Reid rapidly got off of his lap and ran to the door. He pushed it open, and this time, they could hear the sound of some engine near the back of the train. Then, a gunshot.

They were under attack.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Driving away from their ordeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Oh gods, I wrote fluff. I promise that you'll have a bit of sexy in the next chapter._

* * *

** Chapter 15 **

“ _Morgan!_ ” Garcia cried out. Already, he was reaching down to the gun he kept in his boot. He handed it wordlessly to Reid, whose face was set in a determined frown. Morgan leaned in and placed a quick kiss on those frowning lips just as he was drawing his other gun. He gestured for Reid to take one side of their little train while he took the other. They moved silently towards the back of the train. Morgan was the first one to see Garcia. She was on the ground, holding her left shoulder with her right hand and trying push herself away from a man who was standing over her. Morgan recognized the guy from the diner.

“Hey buddy,” he said darkly, “I suggest you back the fuck off.” He levelled his gun at his head. And felt cold metal against his own temple. Shit.

“No, _buddy_ ,” he heard to his left, “ _you_ back off.” He sighed and looked down for a second when he heard a growl then suddenly, there was a detonation somewhere to the back and right of him and he heard the man who had been threatening him fall to the ground and Clooney stood over him growling.

“ _Shit_ ,” the other would be bounty hunter swore. Then, another gunshot and he went down, too.

Morgan kept his gun pointed towards the man. “Reid?” he asked uncertainly. “Kid, you all right?”

“Yeah,” came Reid's voice, somewhere to his right.

“Garcia?” he asked next. The men weren't moving. He kicked the one next to him for good measure. Dead. He put his gun back in its holster, then leaned down and rubbed the dog’s head gratefully.

“I'm uh,” Garcia hesitated. “I'm hit.”

Morgan's head shot up. He swore and made his way over to her but Jordan beat him to it. She pressed against her shoulder and Garcia hissed. “I got it,” she told Morgan. “Where's Ash?” She looked around feverishly. “ _Ash!_ ”

“Over here,” came Ashley's voice from under the car. She crawled out from under it, her clothes torn and dirty. “I'm sorry, I,” she coughed, tried again, “I don't know what happened. I heard a shot and I just threw myself on the ground and under – _Penny!!_ ” She rushed over to her friend.

“I'm good, I'm okay,” Garcia said. Morgan knelt in front of her and batted Jordan's hand away, needing to reassure himself that she was really okay.

“Clean cloth and warm water,” he asked, and Ashley ran into the girls' tent. She came out holding the first-aid kit and a clean cloth. Then she went to the luggage car and Jordan followed. They heated up some water and brought it back to him. Morgan started cleaning the wound in spite of Garcia's protests that she was all right. He suddenly breathed out. “Bullet just nicked her. Can you move your arm, baby girl?” Penelope moved it. “Okay, not so fast. It's still bleeding a lot.” Morgan cleaned the wound again and bandaged it. “I want to get out of here,” he said when he was done, and handed the first-aid kit to Reid who had been hovering over his shoulder worriedly. “Close up the tents, we're going to drive as far as we can.” Jordan nodded and immediately pulled the lever that started the mechanism that would close the girls' tent. Reid went to do the same with theirs. Ashley went to clean they pot they'd used to clean up Garcia's wounds. Morgan helped Penelope up. “You gonna be all right?” he asked her, hovering a bit.

“Yeah,” she said, pushing lightly against his chest so he'd back up a bit, “I'm fine.” She sat up. “Really, mochachino. I'm all right, see?” She moved her arm. “Barely hurts!”

“Stop that,” he hissed at her. “You'll disrupt the healing. Stop it!”

She grinned at him. “It's just a flesh wound!” she said with this kind of little smile that made him feel like he was missing something. “Really,” she insisted, “I'm fine. Now go do your driver duties and get us out of here.”

He grinned. “Yes, ma'am.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, which she leaned into. “All right,” he said, pushing himself to his feet. He offered her a hand to help her up, which she accepted gratefully. He walked her to the cab of her car and helped her in. “You gon' be all right?” he asked when she was on her seat.

“I'll be fine,” she assured him. Go. Your boyfriend needs you.” Morgan frowned. He and Reid weren't together, so the _'boyfriend'_ bit bothered him a bit, though he wasn't sure why. Plus, Garcia was hurt. Why would Reid need him more than Penelope? “Go,” she insisted, and pushed against his shoulder. She mouthed _'Go!'_ one last time, and he finally backed away and closed the door. He saw Jordan and Ashley climb in with Garcia from the other side, and he waved, before heading towards the front of their little train at a casual jog.

He slid behind the controls and closed the door. Reid was staring ahead of him, a blank look on his face. Morgan frowned at him. “You all right?” he asked, and Reid tilted his head minutely towards him. “Reid. Are you all right?” Morgan tried again.

Reid licked his lips pensively. “Just thinking,” he said with a light frown. “I have a lot to think about.” He handed him the gun, which Morgan replaced in his boot.

“What's there to think about?” he asked the young doctor.

Reid licked his lips slowly, brows lowering a little more, giving him a confused but pensive look. “I'm not sure, yet,” he said. “I have to think about it.”

Morgan paused. Then he started the engine. “You gotta think about what to think about?” he finally asked. Reid nodded distractedly, and Morgan figured that was all he would get from him for a while. He focused on steering them. It was pitch black outside and he didn't want to end up in a ditch or worse. They drove on like this for a few hours, but then Reid fell asleep with his head against the side window. Morgan figured they all needed their sleep. He stationed the little train a little out of the way, hidden by rocks and vegetation. He got out of the cab and opened up the tents. Then he knocked twice against Garcia's window. She opened the door groggily.

“Morgan?” She had clearly been sleeping.

“Yeah, it's me. Just opened up your tent so you girls can go to sleep, all right?” He heard movement inside and guessed that one of the girls was already moving towards the tent. “I'll see you girls in a few hours,” Morgan said. “I just need three or four hours of sleep before I'm ready to go again. I want to put as much distance between that town and us as I can.” Garcia nodded an acknowledgement. “Your shoulder still okay?” he asked, and she nodded again. “Okay. Night, Penelope.”

“G'night,” she replied sleepily.

Morgan called for Clooney to lie down outside the girl’s tent. He closed the door and went back to his and Reid's tent. Reid was standing motionless, next to his blowup mattress, his blanket and pillow in hand. Morgan waved him a hello and Reid blinked sleepily at him, then he hesitantly waved back. He watched Morgan get into bed and finally settled down onto his mattress. Then Reid finally lowered himself onto his mattress. Morgan drifted off.

He woke up again at the break of dawn. The light streaming into their tent forced him out of bed before he was really ready to. He rubbed his face with both hands and sat up groggily. Reid was still passed out. He wasn't surprised, but he didn't want to waste time with coffee or the likes this morning. He kicked his mattress lightly on the way out of the tent. “Reid, wake up,” he said, and was rewarded with a sleepy groan. “I'm going to wake the girls. Get your ass in the cab, I wanna get going.”

To his surprise, Reid sat up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Morgan jumped off of the platform. He walked back to the girls' tent and pushed the door aside. “Girls?” he called out. “Are you guys awake, cause I wanna get goin'.”

“I'm up.” Ahsley's voice was groggy, but at least she was conscious. “I'll wake the others up.”

“Thanks,” Morgan said. “Ping the front car when you guys are ready to roll.” He let the door fall shut again, called Clooney and made his way back to the front of their little train. The dog trotted behind him.

Reid was standing by their tent, drowsily watching the platform move to the closed position. “Coffee?” he asked hopefully.

“Sorry, kid,” Morgan said. “I wanna get going. You can sleep a bit more while I drive and we'll get coffee later, a'right?” Reid nodded and got into the cab. Morgan walked around the front and climbed into his seat. The dog laid down with his head resting on Spencer’s feet. Reid wasn’t awake enough to fuss and Morgan couldn’t stop the soft smile that stole over his face.

There was a soft _ping_ , and Ashley's face appeared in the windshield. “We're ready to go,” she said.

Morgan flicked the control that would let him reply. “Ok, good. We won't stop today so hopefully you girls have enough snacks to keep you fed until we stop for the night.”

“We're good,” she assured him, and her face disappeared, signalling the end of the call.

Morgan started the engine and they were off. As he had said, he didn't stop for the entire day. They ate snacks while still on the road and Morgan only stopped again when it was evening. He manoeuvred the little train until it was mostly hidden from three sides and finally cut the engine. Reid was sleeping once more on the seat next to him. Morgan patted his thigh. “Reid,” he called out gently, “wake up, man. You'll be more comfortable sleeping on your mattress. I'll open up the tent for you, okay?” Reid made a soft acknowledging sound and tried to straighten up. Morgan got out of the cab and went around the back to open up the tent. Then he went to the girls' car and did the same thing. He knocked on the window opposite of where Garcia was sitting that morning. It was pushed open and Ashley's face appeared. “Opened up your tent,” Morgan told her. “You guys should go to bed. I need a proper night of sleep. Night.”

Ashley nodded. “Thanks,” she said. “You too.”

Morgan saluted a casual farewell and went back to his own tent. When he walked in, he was surprised to find Reid standing up by his inflated mattress again. He was dressed in his sleepwear, but he was just standing there, a pensive frown on his face. Morgan walked over to him. “Why aren't you in bed already?” he asked.

Reid looked at him over his shoulder. “I was thinking,” he said softly.

“Yeah?” Morgan walked closer, intrigued in spite of himself. “So what does the young doctor think about so late at night?” He grinned, trying to find his good mood again in spite of the tiredness he felt and what had happened the last night.

Reid opened his mouth, hesitated, licked his lips and tilted his head. “I ah, I'm not sure,” he said. “Many things.”

Morgan put his hand on one of Spencer's shoulders and pulled gently, making him pivot so he'd look at him face-on. “Reid,” he said softly, “you know you can tell me.” The younger man bit his lips together, then licked them. Morgan had to restrain himself. That tongue, slipping between the pink lips... But no, he needed to know what was going on in Reid's mind. “Reid?” he prompted again.

“I just killed someone, Morgan.” He looked at Morgan, something a little broken in his gaze.

Morgan shook his head. “You saved my life, Reid.” He caught his arm and pulled. Reid leaned into him and Morgan wrapped his arms around him. “You saved my life and that's the end of it. Don't waste your time thinking about that guy.”

Reid just stood there, let him hold him, but he didn't move into the embrace. After a moment, Derek let go. Reid asked, “Is Garcia going to be all right?”

Morgan nodded. “I think so. Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Going to be all right,” Morgan said patiently.

Reid thought about it for a moment. “I think so,” he finally said. His eyes met Morgan's again, and this time, he leaned in for a kiss. Morgan indulged him easily. Then Reid was lowering himself so he sat on the edge of his mattress. He pulled at Morgan's arm lightly, then patted the mattress next to him. Morgan sat. Reid licked his lips again and leaned in. He hesitated a little, then moved closer, closing the distance between them. Their lips met gently, hesitantly. Morgan let him set the pace. It was like Reid was seeking comfort, and he wasn't sure he was quite ready to give it yet. Still, he let his fingers tangle in the light brown curls. He parted his lips and licked at Reid's, making the younger man moan softly and open his mouth for Morgan to plunder. His arms wrapped around the back of the older man's neck and he pulled himself closer. He ended their kiss only to initiate another. This one was hotter, more needy. Morgan growled softly and Reid made a soft purring sound in the back of his throat that made the smuggler's fingers tighten in his hair. The heat between them intensified. Reid pulled Morgan down with him so they were both lying on the mattress. Morgan went with it and kissed him again. His right hand raked down Reid's side, finally coming to rest on his hips. He pulled him closer. Their legs entwined, their chests were pressed against each other and both of them were starting to react. It brought Morgan back to reality. He pulled away, sitting up and turning away from Reid.

Reid sat up, too. “Morgan?” he asked uncertainly.

“It's okay, kid,” Morgan said softly and squeezed his shoulder, pushing him backwards gently until the younger man was lying down on his mattress once more. “Just go to sleep, a'ight?”

When he let go, Reid caught his hand and squeezed it. Morgan grinned and tightened his hold, too. He leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to his forehead. Reid's other hand landed on his thigh and lifted his head, seeking his mouth with his own. Morgan indulged him. It was a rather chaste kiss at first. Derek wasn't even sure this was a good idea, but he couldn't resist those lips anymore. And soon, he was deepening the kiss, angling his head, urging Reid to part his lips. The young doctor moaned softly and opened his mouth, his tongue sliding forward to meet with Morgan's.

A brief pause where they both breathed and regarded each other, then they met again in another open-mouthed kiss, then another. Reid's hand slid higher on his thigh and Morgan groaned softly. He should probably put a stop to this. It wasn't exactly the best timing. He broke the kiss, hovering over the younger man. “Reid,” he began, but the young doctor lifted his head and caught his lips again, cutting short whatever he was going to say. A moan, a slide of tongue against his and Reid's hand climbed up to his crotch. Morgan groaned again. “Reid,” he tried again and caught the younger man's hand, “there's no need for this.” And it wasn't because Morgan didn't want to touch him, too. He did. He really did, but, “Don't start something you can't finish.”

“I can do this much, Morgan,” Reid said, somewhat pleadingly. “You don't want to?”

“I want it, kid,” Morgan assured him. “Tonight's just not really the best time. C'mon.” He managed to push himself away and sat up again. He patted Reid's hipbone gently. “Get some rest. I'll still be around tomorrow.”

Reid licked his kiss-swollen lips slowly and nodded. It was all Morgan could do not to ravish him there and then. Another brief, chaste kiss onto the younger man's lips and he straightened up once more and got to his feet. “Night,” he said. “Sleep well.”

Reid nodded again and watched him get ready for bed. It was a little awkward changing his clothes when Reid was just _staring_ like this. Morgan wasn't even sure the guy was blinking at all. He finally slipped under his blankets. Sleep was slow in coming, but eventually, he managed to drift off.

He was awoken sometime during the night by someone moving in their tent. He lifted his head and blinked, trying to clear sleep from his eyes. “Reid?” he asked softly. “Kid, is that you?”

“Yeah,” Reid said and came to sit on the bed next to Morgan. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.” He tilted his head. “Do you mind if, ah,” he hesitated, “if I sleep here?”

Morgan groaned and wriggled away, leaving space large enough for Reid to slip beneath the covers, which he did. He looked rather tense and scared. Morgan figured he might have had a nightmare, or was just still rattled because of his recent ordeal. He didn't blame him. This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to push things earlier; the kid was kind of emotionally shaken at the moment. He didn't want to take advantage. “C'm'ere,” he said and wriggled closer once more. He placed a protective arm over Reid's waist, holding him very loosely. Reid placed his own arm over Morgan's and slid his fingers to tangle with the older man's.

“Thanks,” he said softly. “Good night.”

“Mm,” Morgan murmured, already drifting off again.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quieter day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Here's 16. With some sexy. Enjoy. **NSFW.**_

* * *

** Chapter 16 **

Morgan woke up to a soft giggle. He blinked and moved his head away from Reid's, trying to get hair out of his mouth. He glanced towards the door. Garcia was standing there, with a huge grin on her face. “Aww,” she teased, “you guys are so cute. I should have taken a picture. I do believe it's the first time you've overslept. Got to bed late, hmm?”

“Garcia,” he groaned, “get your mind outta the gutter, woman. Reid couldn't sleep. Nothing happened.” That was kind of Morgan's doing, but he didn't regret it. That much. Really, he didn't. He tried to stretch, but Reid was holding fast onto his arm. As he blinked a little more awake, he realized he was on his side, with Reid's back pressed against his front, his arm still protectively slung over the young doctor's waist. They were spooning. They were actually spooning. It felt weird to be this, this romantic. Not that he couldn't be, it was just weird that he'd done this unconsciously in his sleep. Even when he was slumbering, it seemed that he subconsciously wanted to protect Spencer.

Reid murmured something and pushed against him, like he was trying to bury himself into the older man. Garcia tilted her head. “Aww, all that sweetness is going to give me cavities,” she teased. Morgan's only answer was to glare and awkwardly chuck a pillow in her direction. It didn't even make it off the bed. He was kind of lying on the one arm Reid wasn't holding onto. Garcia chuckled. “Breakfast is ready,” she said. “I'll tell the girls you need another ten minutes, but if you make us wait any longer, we'll start eating without you.” She left the tent and the door fell loosely shut behind her.

Morgan groaned and buried his face in Spencer's shoulder. The younger man stirred slightly, but then he relaxed once more. “Wake up,” Morgan said softly. Reid mumbled softly. “Reid, wake up, man. I'm hungry. And I bet you'd like to have coffee.”

“Warm and comfortable,” Reid mumbled. “Don't wanna move.”

Morgan chuckled. “Well, let me go and I'll go get your coffee for you, a'right?”

“Mm,” Reid said, but he finally let go of his arm. Then, “Ack! _Clooney!_ ” Morgan sat up to see what was going on, and found the dog snuffing at Reid's bare feet. “Clooney, that tickles!!” Reid curled on himself some more, trying to get his feet away from the dog. Morgan laughed and got up. Clooney followed after him, finally leaving poor Spencer alone.

Morgan got him coffee as he promised, then he had breakfast with the girls. After a while, Spencer came out of their tent with his empty mug and went over to the coffee machine for a refill. He sat next to Derek, who welcomed him with a, “Hey, kid!” Reid smiled and took a sip of coffee. And stole a bit of egg and toast from Morgan's plate when he wasn't looking. Derek saw him do it out of his peripheral vision, but he wasn't bothered enough to raise a fuss. Since his breakfast was being pilfered anyway, he threw a few bits at Clooney, too. The dog had finished his own food and was looking at him with those pleading eyes and Morgan just couldn't resist spoiling him a bit more. When they were all properly fed and caffeinated, they cleaned themselves up and then they were off again. Morgan put on some music and tapped the beat with his fingers on the steering wheel. Spencer tried to read, in spite of the dog doing everything he could to get Reid to pay attention to him, putting his head on Reid's knees or licking his hands. They drove through the day and stopped as the sun went down.

Morgan got out of the cab and slowly stretched. Clooney bounded out after him, barked and started running around; no doubt he needed to stretch his legs, too. Reid came up next to him. “What's that smell?” he wanted to know.

“The ocean,” Morgan told him. “We're going to follow the coast until we reach Devon.”

Reid craned his neck. “I've never seen the ocean,” he said.

“We'll get closer tomorrow and you can see it, a'right?” He wrapped his arm around the back of Reid's neck and walked to the back of the train, where the girls were already setting things so Ashley could make dinner. Clooney ran over as soon as the smell of meat started coming from the grill. Morgan laughed at the dog's pleading eyes. Apparently, Ashley couldn't resist either because she gave him some of what she was making.

“How's your shoulder?” Morgan asked Garcia.

“Painful as hell,” she replied before sitting next to him. He had one arm slung around the back of Reid's chair, though he wasn't in it at the moment, but he put his other arm around Garcia and pulled her gently closer in a sort of awkward near-hug. Reid finished making coffee and settled in to Morgan's right. Derek grinned and ruffled his hair, before returning his arm to the back of his chair. Spencer smiled at him and smoothed his hair back behind his ears. They had dinner, then chatted for a bit. Reid left for their tent first. A while later, Morgan excused himself, ignoring the grin and wink from Garcia when she said, “Night, chocomuffin! Don't wear our young doctor out too much!”

When he got to his tent, Morgan told Clooney, “Stay,” and the dog obediently sat down. Man, this was just the best dog ever. Then he got in the tent and found Reid on his bed, reading from his pad. He paused.

Reid looked up. “Ah, I hope you don't mind,” he said. “I just thought, well I thought, I slept so well last night...” He got up. “I'm sorry, I probably should have asked first. Asked if you were okay with this, I mean.” He tilted his head as Morgan walked closer. “I mean, you might not actually want to do anything with me, since I'm a guy and maybe you decided that this wasn't a good idea after all and –” He kissed him. This was, he had found, the best way to shut Spencer up when he was rambling on and on, or when he was thinking himself into a frenzy. One kiss, and silence fell. Well, not quite. Reid moaned. Honest to god, _moaned_ and Morgan growled in response. Fuck, but the kid was doing a number on him. He gripped his bony hips, pulling him flush against his body, and Reid's hands landed on his shoulders, soft, hesitant, then they suddenly tightened, twisting in the fabric of his shirt. He parted his lips and kissed back with near desperation.

When Morgan pushed his tongue forward into Reid's mouth, the young doctor pushed against it with his own. A sort of battle for dominance ensued, that neither won. They broke apart, eyed each other; Morgan let a slow grin pull at his lips, and Reid smiled back. When they kissed again, it was softer, but no less passionate. And when Morgan demanded entrance into Reid's mouth, the younger man let him in, with another soft moan that went straight to Derek's cock.

Reid broke the kiss, catching Morgan's lower lip as he backed away. A soft lick at the abused skin and then he was pushing against Morgan, gently but insistently. Derek let him push him back until he felt something hard at his back. The same door he'd pinned Reid against the other day. _Gods_ , this was something entirely new for Morgan. He'd had plenty of girls who were more feisty in bed, but somehow, Reid's quiet insistence came on stronger than any of them ever had. He felt a tug at his belt and he groaned, pulling Spencer's head closer for another kiss. Reid indulged him, moaning softly again and the tugs at his belt grew more insistent. When Morgan broke the kiss and looked down, he saw Reid's hands were shaking and he blinked.

“Reid,” he said quietly. “Kid, you –”

“I want to,” Spencer interrupted breathlessly. “I just, I'm just,” He shook his head, licked his lips and swallowed. He raised his eyes up to meet Morgan's. “You know, if you call me 'Kid' now, it's going to make it really awkward.”

Morgan blinked and thought about it. “Uh, yeah. Well then. Pretty Boy.” He grinned and lifted Reid's head a little higher with a finger under his chin. The guy was seriously prettier than a man had any right to be. But maybe that was one of the many extraordinary things about Doctor Spencer Reid that made him the exception to Morgan's rule. Reid gave him a shy but happy little smile and Morgan's grin intensified. He leaned in for another kiss, much softer this one. One of Reid's hands pressed against his chest, and his fingers slid down slowly. When he tugged at Morgan's belt again, it was less hurried, but also less shaky. He still had to break the kiss to look down so he could undo the buckle. Morgan tugged at his sash, which easily loosened and came undone.

“This is really unfair,” Reid said rather breathlessly. He finally managed to get Morgan's belt undone and he let it fall to the ground.

“Yeah,” Morgan agreed with a soft chuckle, “it really is.”

“Shut up,” Reid said and undid the three buttons that held the tunic closed at the shoulder. The fabric parted and he ran the tip of his fingers lightly over well-defined muscles, sucking in a breath.

Morgan gasped, but for an entirely different reason. “You got bad circulation or somethin'? Your fingers are _icy_.”

“I'm sorry,” Reid laughed, not sounding sorry in the least.

“Right,” Morgan said and caught his hands, holding them tight, hoping to transmit some warmth. He didn't want to flinch constantly because of icy cold hands on his skin. He leaned in and caught his lips in another kiss, loving how pliant Reid's mouth was against his. There was that moan again, and Morgan groaned in response. He let go of Reid's hands and pushed his short vest off of his shoulders, then pulled at the top he was wearing under it. But Reid batted his hands away, bit at his lower lip and slowly started lowering himself.

“Oh gods,” Morgan said, because this had been the first vivid fantasy he had had about the young doctor, that afternoon when they had first kissed. And it had been pretty much a constant fixture in his thoughts ever since. Reid got his pants undone and rubbed his hands together before placing them carefully just above the hem of the cloth. “Is this still too cold?” he asked, and Morgan nearly laughed. How so very _Reid_ to worry about this now that the temperature of his fingers had been brought to his attention.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “No, I mean. It's fine now.” Reid had a nervous chuckle, then he slipped one hand inside his pants and stroked him slowly, a look of intense concentration on his handsome face. Morgan petted his hair gently. Reid took him slowly out of his pants and spent a good minute just _staring_ , which was beginning soon to make Morgan feel rather nervous. He tried to coax the young doctor's head up to meet his eyes, but Reid refused to let him. “Pretty boy,” Derek said softly. “Spencer, look at me.”

“Can't,” Reid said. “If I look at you, I will become so flustered, I won't be able to do this.” He licked his lips slowly, then finally leaned in and touched the tip of his tongue to Morgan's flesh. It was just a quick, light pressure, then it was gone, before Derek could be sure he had felt it. But then Reid leaned in again, and this time there was no mistaking it as he ran his tongue over the underside of Morgan's cock, drawing out a groan from him. He felt Reid pause, then do it again. Morgan's fingers flexed minutely into the soft brown hair. There was another pause, then he felt Reid's lips at the tip. He took the head into his mouth, then retreated slightly, before moving forward and taking a little more. He repeated this a few times, then moved away. Morgan was trying so hard not to push Reid, but the slow pace was driving him completely insane.

Reid started pumping him with his hand slowly and mouthed along the shaft. Morgan groaned softly. And then Spencer leaned lower and ran his tongue under his balls, over them and all the way up to the tip of his cock and Derek gasped a, _“Fuck!”_ Either the guy had way more experience than Morgan gave him credit for, or he watched too much porn. Or rather, arguably, just enough porn. “Do that again,” he told him and the younger man complied. This time, however, when he reached the tip, he pursed his lips and took him into his mouth. He bobbed his head a few times, pulled back, tongued just at the base of the tip, then went back up, took him in again. It was driving Morgan completely crazy. There seemed to be no rhythm, and he could never get used to it or anticipate what Reid would do next. And if the young doctor kept at it, he'd come in a ridiculously short time. “Reid,” he tried to warn him. “Fuck Reid, slow down.” Reid stopped what he was doing and pulled his mouth off his cock, using his hand to stroke it slowly as he looked up questioningly. When his eyes met Morgan's, they widened until they were impossibly large and the older man could see a deep flush bloom on his cheeks, right over those amazing cheekbones.

Since when had he started noticing _cheekbones?!_ Man, he had it bad.

Reid's lips were wet and darker than usual and the sight was so damn indecent, he nearly came right there and then. Those wide hazel eyes were still locked on his, like the younger man just couldn't look away. And then he bit his lower lip and tried to stifle a soft whimper, and Morgan had had it. He leaned forward, grabbing the younger man's upper arm and hauled him to his feet. Reid moved his other hand away from his own crotch and Morgan groaned again. Reid, innocent, bashful, amazing Spencer had been touching himself. Because of Derek.

He pulled him into a possessive hold and wasted no time in pushing his tongue forward into Reid's mouth. When he broke away, both were panting harshly. “Boy, what are you doing to me?” Morgan growled softly. “I'm gonna make you come so hard you'll never be satisfied with your hand ever again.” He kissed him again, then pushed him back a bit until Reid's legs hit the bed. He pressed down slightly on his shoulders and Reid sat down, then scooted to the middle of the bed. Morgan crawled on after him. “C'mere,” he said and he sat, pulling Reid closer. He parted Spencer's legs, and slid under and between them, so Spencer's calves were pushing down on Morgan's thighs, on either side of his hips.

“Uh,” Reid said hesitantly, “Morgan, I'm not sure about this.”

Morgan grinned. “Oh, you are, Pretty Boy,” he assured him. “You're just embarrassed. But you want this, trust me.”

He pulled Reid's tunic just high enough so he could get his pants open, and then he slid his hand in. He thought maybe it'd feel weird. In all his thirty-three years, he had never touched another man's cock. But it didn't feel odd or wrong in any way. And the moan that escaped Reid's throat made it all sorts of right. The young doctor was biting on his lower lip again and he looked like he was holding his breath. Morgan scooted closer, nosed at his neck until he heard Reid gasp. Then he nipped at his jawline and moved his head back so he could kiss him again. His hand was wrapped around Reid's shaft and he stroked him slowly three times.

Reid broke the kiss with a low moan and he panted softly, then leaned back in for open-mouthed kisses that brushed over Morgan's mouth, mingling theirs breaths, leaving his lips tingling for more. He scooted as close to Reid as he could and started pumping in earnest, drawing another breathless moan from the younger man who tilted his head back. And who could resist that soft, white skin? Morgan nipped at his throat, ran his teeth over his Adam’s apple, then leaned more into him so he could latch on the side of his neck. His dick was demanding attention, but Reid seemed too far gone to be able to give it, so Morgan let his free hand wander over to Spencer's ass, and he pulled him flush against his body. That drew another moan from the younger man, whose fingers tightened onto Morgan's shoulders, where he clung with a desperate grip.

His knowledge definitely had more to do with porn than hands-on practice, then.

Well, Morgan could work on the practice part. For now, he wanted to come, so he wrapped his right hand around both their shafts and sped up his movements. Maybe he should have Reid finish him off with his hot, wet mouth, but he just didn't feel right coming before even touching him. And this had its charms, too. Spencer moaned and panted and it was _beautiful_. And when he came, he had his lower lip clamped tightly between his teeth, then he threw back his head and let out, _“Ah!”_

Morgan kept stroking and pumping his fist, staring at the young doctor's face as Reid struggled to get his breathing under control. It didn't take too long for Derek to come as well, and when he was done, he pulled Reid into a series of harsh kisses that were even more beautiful for how uncoordinated they were.

Finally, Reid let his forehead fall against Morgan's shoulder, breathing out a quiet chuckle. “And here I wanted to dazzle you,” he said. “I even researched as if it were a physics paper.”

Morgan laughed, too. “I could tell. Fuck, that was hot. Maybe I should attempt this researching business.”

“Have pity on me,” Reid laughed. “You're going to kill me if you get better at this.”

“Oh,” Morgan said with a grin, “but what a way to go!”

* * *


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First signs of trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _My fluff has fluff that has fluff. And I have inbuilt fangirls._

* * *

** Chapter 17 **

Movement in their tent woke Morgan up. It wasn't overly disruptive, so he was sort of gradually aware of it instead of being startled to wakefulness. He heard a soft whisper, and though he couldn't hear what was said, he recognized Garcia's voice, so he didn't think he had to bother really waking up just yet. A soft giggle, and he figured his baby girl was just trying to peek at him and Reid again, like she had the previous morning. Reid, huh. He could feel the warmth radiating from the other man. Morgan was lying on his front and had his arms akimbo, the right one right over Reid's chest. He could feel his soft brown hair tickle under his nose with every breath.

There was a soft clicking sound and another giggle. He groaned and pushed himself up, twisting around to sit while chucking a pillow in the general direction of the giggle at the same time. “Penelope,” he growled, then paused and blinked. The blonde who had dodged the pillow wasn't Garcia, but Ashley. She giggled again and caught the device Garcia chucked at her from the other side of the bed.

“Run,” the tech said with a laugh. “Run for your life while I hold him off!” Ashley legged it out of their tent and he could hear her call out something to Jordan. Garcia moved to the door and made sure it was shut properly. “We may have a problem,” she said, much more serious now.

Morgan rubbed his face a few times. “What kind of problem?” he asked warily.

“You asked me to listen to space chatter around the planet?” she began, and Morgan nodded. “Well, there's a price on your head. Two million for you or Reid, five for both.” Morgan cursed. “That's not all. There's a five hundred thousand reward for news of your whereabouts, too. Someone contacted them from the last town we stopped at. Probably from the guys who attacked us, but there's no way to be sure.”

Morgan pushed himself off of the bed and to his feet. “Great,” he muttered darkly and made his way over to the bag of clothes he kept in the tent. “Tell me there's some good news in all this,” he told Garcia, grabbing a beige tunic at random and slipping it over his head.

“Oh, mocha latte, I wish I could,” she said. “But it only gets worse.”

Morgan shoved his arms through the sleeves. “You're kiddin' me.” He caught sight of her face. “Okay, you're _not_ kiddin' me.”

“The Aurora stopped moving.”

“What?” Morgan wasn't sure what that meant, but if something had happened to his ship, he knew a bunch of people had a good whackin' comin' at them, from one very pissed-off smuggler.

“She's still sending me her coordinates, and she's still in the Andolene ocean, but she's no longer moving along the bottom. She's going _up_ , Morgan. Someone got to her.”

“Shit,” Morgan rubbed his hand over his head in frustration. “At least tell me this is the end of the bad news this morning, cause I – ” He caught the look on her face. “Okay, just, just tell me the rest of it now.

“Well, I'm not sure what it means but I decided to dig on Reid a bit.” Her eyes slid over to where the young doctor was still sleeping. “I mean, there's nothing much about him, other than his research papers and the likes, but um... It's about his mother.”

Morgan's chest went cold. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”

Garcia blinked at him. She caught the look on his face. “She's fine!” she immediately reassured him, waving her hands before her. “Ambulance still has nothing suspicious to report.” She twirled a finger around one blond lock. “But apparently, the day she had her breakdown, she had lunch with Rothschild just before her lecture. This whole thing may have started long before you met Reid.”

Morgan breathed in slowly, closing his eyes. Then he breathed out into a long sigh. “Okay,” he said. He didn't know what else to say, so he repeated, “Okay.”

Garcia's eyes strayed to the young doctor once more. “What are you going to tell him?”

Morgan turned to look at Reid, too. “I don't know, yet.” He let his gaze trail down the pale chest. Reid had never ended up changing into his sleepwear the previous night. After... Well, _after_ , Morgan had managed to convince him to chuck his tunic and just sleep in the pants he'd been wearing, because, well, why the hell not. Morgan had just wanted to feel the naked skin against his. He turned back to Garcia. “Do something for me, baby girl.”

“Anything,” she said easily.

“Don't tell him just yet, all right? Let me handle it.”

Penelope frowned. “You're not going to tell him?” she asked. “Doesn't he deserve to know?”

“I'll tell him,” Morgan assured her. “But not just yet. I have to ask him about it, first. See what he remembers of Rothschild and his relationship with his mother. I want unbiased answers. Telling him first could make him want to see too much into things that might have nothing to do with this.”

Garcia nodded. “Okay. I'll let you handle it. Just...” She hesitated, looking up at him thoughtfully. “Derek, promise me one thing.”

Morgan frowned at her. “Um,” he said hesitantly. “Okay.”

“Promise me you'll take good care of him.”

“What do you mean?” Morgan wasn't sure he liked where this conversation was going.

“I know you, Derek Morgan.” Garcia put her fists on her curvalicious hips and looked up at him with a dead serious look in her eyes. “If you love him and leave him, I'm going to fucking kick your ass into the next dimension. I know you haven't thought this all out properly. You're just going with the flow, as usual. I'm not asking you to marry him and live together forever after. But at least be serious about him, or I'll make you regret the day you crashed on New Nevada.”

“I already regret the day I crashed on New Nevada,” Morgan replied smartly. Then he saw her expression and it was his turn to reassure her, “But not because of this. I'd say this is one of the rare positive outcomes in this whole thing. That and finally meeting you face to face, of course.”

She grinned at him, then turned serious once more. “Just promise me, whatever happens, promise you'll be nice to him, okay?”

“I will, mama. I will.”

“Good. Now,” she slapped him on the ass. “Get your cute little butt out there so we can have breakfast.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Morgan mock saluted. Garcia laughed and hooked her arm through his. They made their way out of the tent and back towards where they could see Jordan and Ashley chatting happily. Clooney got up when he saw Morgan, barked once and ran happily around him. Morgan tried to avoid walking into him. “Fat load of help _you_ were,” he griped. “You let the girls get in the tent!” Clooney barked and wagged his tail, obviously unashamed of his slip in his guard duty, then ran towards Ashley to beg for food.

“Hey,” Jordan said, “I saw you and Reid like being cute and stuff first thing in the morning.”

“What do you mean, you saw?” Morgan asked her, frowning. Garcia immediately stepped away from him. He turned to her. “Penelope,” he said warningly.

“I couldn't resist, okay?” she said.

“Aw,” Ashley said, “what's the harm?” She threw Clooney a piece of bacon, then took something out of her pocket. A flattened out holocube. She pulled at the corners so that it returned to its cubic form. He peered at it. “Penny said you guys were adorable and to grab the cameras so we could get a 3D image.” Sure enough, there was Reid and him, head to head, sleeping, Morgan's arm slung across Reid's chest.

“Seriously?” he asked.

“You're welcome,” Garcia said. “That's what friends are for.”

“If I'd known, I'd have read the warnings,” Morgan said, but he was smiling.

They had just sat to eat breakfast when Reid arrived, wearing the same rumpled tunic from the previous day, rubbing one of his eyes, hair sticking up in every direction. He looked ridiculously adorable and Morgan grinned. “Hey babe,” he called out easily. “Didn't expect you out of bed this early.”

“Was cold,” Reid mumbled. “You weren't there.”

Morgan ignored the chorus of, _'Aww!'_ coming from all three girls. “Coffee's over there,” he pointed. Reid turned, blinked at the machine and as he took a step towards it, he walked right into Clooney, who had rushed to him to say hello. The young doctor gave him his usual awkward pat-pat on the top of his head, then made his way over to the coffee machine to pour his first cup. Morgan had already set the sugar and cream by the free seat next to him by the time Reid sat in it. The young doctor poured a copious amount of both in, and Morgan went back to his breakfast.

“So,” Garcia said, “I think we can make it to Devon by the day after tomorrow.”

Morgan nodded. “Then we just have to meet up with Prentiss and get on the ship to Varna, right?”

Garcia nodded just as Reid asked, “What's this?” He picked up the holocube from where Morgan had left it on the table. Crap, he'd forgotten about the damn thing. Spencer blinked at it a few times and Morgan found himself searching his face carefully. The kid had this confused little frown for a moment, then a faint, very faint blush worked its way up his neck to his ears and face. He turned a bewildered look on Morgan who just pointed wordlessly to Garcia.

“You guys were so adorable, I couldn't help it,” Garcia said, completely unapologetic. “It's yours if you want it. Present.”

Reid looked from her, to Morgan, back to her. “I ah, I don't think – ”

Morgan snorted. “C'mon Reid. It's pretty clear you like it.”

“But you don't,” Reid said carefully. He set it down.

Ah, crap. Morgan felt horrible, now. “Nah, it's fine,” he said with a shrug. “I don't mind if you keep it. It's just a little awkward, that's all. Never thought Garcia would sneak into our tent to take a hologram like this. That's what I don't like more than the picture. Keep it.” He picked it up, flattened it and placed it against Reid's chest. The younger man placed a hand over it and Morgan slid his hand out from under Spencer's so he could pat over it a couple of times. Then he went back to his breakfast. He pretended not to notice when Reid slipped the flattened holocube into his pocket. He chatted with the girls as they ate, and Reid stole a bite-size piece of bread from his plate. Morgan blinked at him but didn't comment. The second time the young doctor stole from him, though, he asked him, “How about I get you a plate?”

“No thanks,” Reid said easily and stole another bit of bread, “I'm not hungry.”

“Then why're you stealin' my breakfast?” Morgan grumbled and slapped his hand away.

“Because it looks good,” Reid answered, but he left his breakfast alone after that. They finished up and the girls cleared out the table while Morgan went to wash up, shave and change into a clean set of clothes. Then it was Reid's turn and Morgan got kicked out of the tent. He didn't get why Reid was still shy about changing in front of him, but the young doctor was adamant, so Morgan went to play fetch with Clooney while Spencer washed up. The girls were next and they all went together to save time, which Morgan pointed out was the smart thing to do. Reid shrugged and pulled the lever that would close up the tent. Clooney went with the girls. Morgan figured they could go sit in the cab of the pull vehicle and when the dog reappeared, it would mean the girls were done.

When they were sitting comfortably, Morgan started looking through his music playlists, trying to decide what to listen to. Reid cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Uh, Morgan,” he began hesitantly. Then he paused. Morgan turned to him and waited for him to finish, watching him quietly. “Are you sure, ah...” Another hesitation. “Are you sure you're okay with this?”

“Okay with what?” Morgan asked him.

“I don't know,” Reid said. “The look on your face, when you saw the holocube...” He licked his lips, then tried again from another angle. “Are you sure you want me to keep it?”

“Huh?” Morgan couldn't believe they were still discussing this. “I told you, it's fine. You're thinking about this way too much. I just didn't know what to think at the time, but you looked happy. S'all that matters, all right?” He ruffled his hair.

“Okay,” Reid said. Then he pulled his lips to one side, looking up at Morgan. “You don't... regret it, do you?”

Morgan eyed him for a moment. “Kid,” he finally said, “you seriously gotta stop thinking so lowly of yourself. For one, I don't regret things. I felt like doing it, so I did. Why should I waste my time thinking about whether I should've, could've, might've done things differently? And even if I _did_ regret things, I wouldn't regret what we did. Stop doubting yourself and for fuck's sake, Kid, stop doubting me, okay?”

“Sorry.” Reid seriously looked contrite, so Morgan sighed.

“C'mere,” he said, and he leaned towards him for a kiss. Reid didn't need to be asked twice. Morgan kept it chaste. This wasn't about feeling good. It was about reassuring the kid that things were really all right. “Don't wanna hear you doubt things again, okay? If I'm not okay with anything, do I look the type to just let it happen and not tell you?”

Reid had to admit, “No.”

“So,” Morgan said and tapped his forehead gently, “stop over-thinking this.”

“But,” Reid protested with a little smile, “over-thinking things is what I _do_.”

“Huh,” Morgan said teasingly, “you don't say. Hadn't noticed.” He grinned. The bright, open smile he got in return made it all worthwhile. He leaned over and kissed those tempting lips. Reid made a soft sound in the back of his throat and Morgan nibbled at his lips. He pulled away and grinned. “Boy, I don't know what you're doing to me, but don't ever stop.”

“Uh,” Reid blinked at him. “O... kay?”

Morgan chuckled and kissed him again, an open-mouthed kiss that made Reid whimper softly again. He parted his lips and Morgan wasted no time in deepening it. Seriously, he could get used to this. His hand landed on Reid's far hip and the younger man turned to face him more fully. His tongue slid over Morgan's and he groaned. Derek pulled at his hip and some how, he ended up sitting back on his side of the cab, with the young doctor astride his lap. Morgan's hands were clutching at Reid's hips and he had his head tilted back. They were kissing, exploring and tasting, completely wrapped into each other. When Reid climbed higher on his lap and Morgan felt him pressed against his crotch, it was electric. Reid gasped and moaned, effectively breaking the kiss.

Morgan's fingers flexed on the younger man's hips with near-bruising intensity, and he fought to control himself. Reid seemed to follow his train of thoughts. “How much time have we got?” he asked breathlessly.

“Not long,” Morgan groaned. “C'mere.” He reached up with one hand and wrapped it around the back of Reid's head, pulling him down for another kiss. The younger man complied and it was amazing how easy and good this felt. Morgan groaned and his other hand slid lower, groping over Reid's ass, dragging another groan from the young doctor.

There was a soft _ping_ , and really, Garcia just had the most horrible timing. “Hey there,” she hailed them. Morgan wondered if he could get away with ignoring her for just ten minutes. His hand pulled Reid higher on his lap and he growled softly.

Reid broke the kiss. “Garcia,” he panted, “she's ah, she's calling – Oh gods!” Morgan's finger had just slid over the cleft of his ass.

“Ignore her,” Morgan growled. “She can wait five minutes.”

“What if she can see us?” Reid asked.

“She can't, kid,” Morgan assured him. “Not until I pick up the call.”

“Wanna bet?” Garcia asked.

Morgan cursed and Reid got off his lap so fast, he hit his head on the ceiling of the cab. “Garcia, what the fuck?” Morgan growled at Penelope's face on the screen.

“Seriously, chocomuffin,” Garcia said and grinned, “the system in this thing is so easy to hack, I could do it in my sleep.” She fanned herself. “Man, that was hot. Thanks for the visual, boys.” Reid groaned and hid his face in his hands. Morgan was semi-concerned that the young doctor’s face might not ever return to its natural colour from sheer embarrassment. “Anyway,” the techie continued, “I was just calling to say we're done and we sent your dog back. He's been sitting by the door of your car for a good five minutes. We're ready to go whenever.”

“Ah, crap,” Morgan said. “Forgot the thing was soundproof. I never heard Clooney arrive.” He opened the door and the dog happily got in. He barked, climbed over Morgan to go lick at Reid's hands excitedly. Morgan closed the door and sighed. He glanced at Reid out of the corner of his eye. The young doctor looked mortified and amused at Clooney's antics at the same time. Okay, seemed like the dog had saved the day. He'd be able to salvage the situation. He'd have to make sure Clooney got a treat for this.

“Clooney, stop it,” Reid protested and laughed as the dog tried to lick his face.

Morgan chuckled. “Clooney, down,” he said and the canine got off of the seat and sat by Reid's legs, his head on the seat. He was panting and looking up at Reid adoringly. Seriously, Morgan had this weird sensation like he'd suddenly acquired a family. Reid chuckled, shook his head and petted Clooney's head.

“Awwwww,” the three girls went in the other car.

Morgan had forgotten about them. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, if we're all set, let's go.” He started up the engine and disconnected the call. He selected a music playlist and as the first notes started playing, he grinned at Reid and put the car in drive.

* * *


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Reid changes mood suddenly. I was sick and first and last parts were written with over a week in between and, well..._

* * *

** Chapter 18 **

They drove closer and closer to the ocean as the day progressed. Morgan kind of felt like opening the windows so he could have a bit of outside, non-recycled air, but they would have to wear their masks. There was just no way they were going to risk being seen without them after what had happened. Devon was a relatively large town, and as they got nearer, they risked encountering far more people than they had before. They stopped for lunch, but Morgan called the girls to say Reid and he would eat in the cab of their vehicle. Jordan brought them bread and things to make sandwiches with, as well as a container of coffee. Morgan thanked her and handed things to Reid long enough to stop the music that was playing. He left the door open long enough to let Clooney out so the dog could go run around a little. Then he took the coffee container and served Reid a cup of coffee while the young doctor prepared a sandwich. Morgan handed him the cup just as Reid presented him with the lunch food. They looked at each other. Morgan grinned. Reid had a little smile. They exchanged plate for cup and Derek took a bite as Reid reached for the sugar pot and creamer that he kept in the cab for this very reason.

“Say,” Morgan began after a moment, as offhandedly as he could, “I've been wondering about something.”

Reid glanced at him. “Yeah?” he asked. “About what?”

“You know how Rothschild tricked you.” Morgan kept his eyes on the windshield, hoping Reid wouldn't realize what he was doing. “Do you know what he wanted, though?”

Reid thought about it for a moment and said, “There are a few possibilities. I can think of three off-hand. One, he wanted to kidnap me to use my intellect for his own device, but this is hardly possible. I mean, he did aim the gun at _me_ on the Aurora. If he wanted me to work for him on whatever project he would need a genius for, he wouldn't have threatened to kill me.” Morgan nodded. He had come to the same conclusion. Reid continued, “Two, he was after you for some unknown reason – maybe a grudge over some perceived slight –”

“Hey,” Morgan interrupted, before Reid could go on to the next possibility on his mental list, “you kinda make it sound like I'm in the habit of offending people!”

“There would be no other reason for him to arrange for your ship to be attacked without you remembering him from somewhere, if you were the one he was after. Unless, that is, he was hired by someone. Do you know of anyone who would wish you injury?”

“Not really,” Morgan replied after a moment. “I mean, I usually leave my customers pretty happy, and I stay clear of the P-reps. Anyway, I doubt they'd resort to hiring mercenaries.”

“You're used to using a gun,” Reid commented.

Morgan didn't like where this was going. “I've been in a few gunfights but that was...” He paused. “Well, that was a long time ago. No one remembers it anymore.”

Reid asked, “Are you sure?”

Morgan eyed him, wondering how much to tell him. In the end, he settled for, “Yes, Reid. I'm sure.” The young doctor looked at him, studying his face silently for some time. Morgan _really_ hoped that he would drop it. “But he didn't kill me and he had two weeks to do it,” the smuggler pointed out. He thought about it for a moment. “What's the third option?” he finally asked, attempting to get Reid to focus on something else.

“The Aurora,” Reid said decisively.

Morgan frowned. “My ship? Why would anyone go through all of this for my ship? Granted, she's fast, but that's no reason to try and murder people.”

“I don't think you realize the import that your vessel has,” Reid said with a shake of his head.

“No,” Morgan countered, “I do know she's amazing. I might not have a degree in physics, but I know the speeds she travels at defy conventions. I still don't think it's something that would warrant murder, though.”

“It's more than simply a matter of defying what is conventionally accepted as the laws of physics as we understand them, Morgan.” Reid shook his head. “I have a doctorate of applied sciences in cosmological physics, and I can tell you it's not about conventions at all, it's about the very fabric of the universe.”

“Explain,” Morgan said and he finished his sandwich. He served himself a cup of coffee. As he handed the coffee container back to Reid, he caught the look on the young doctor's face. He could tell what Spencer was thinking so he added, “Just try me, Reid. I might not have a degree but I'm not dumb. If there's anything I don't get, I'll let you know and you can go more in depth about it.”

If there was one thing Reid never needed much convincing to get into, it was long rambles about a topic he found interesting. And there seemed to be nothing the young doctor liked more than physics. And so, he started his explanation, pausing only to take bites of his sandwich once in a while. It was entirely too wordy and included long strings of numbers and equations that Morgan forgot as soon as Reid said them, but he still got the gist of it. Apparently, the only way they could have made it from Kaltek to New Nevada in two weeks was if they had warped the very fabric of time and space, a process that Reid further illustrated by taking a piece of cloth and folding it on itself to make the two far ends connect. He said it was _theoretically_ possible through a process he called an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, but the amount of energy that such a feat would require would burn out an entire solar system, if not a galaxy. The most amazing thing about that for Morgan was that he didn't even use the maximum speed his craft was capable of. He'd barely gone a little above the speed of an ambulance! He wasn't quite ready to tell Reid that, though.

Ashley's face appeared on the windshield. “Hey guys?” she hailed.

Morgan allowed the call to come through. “Heya,” he said with a grin, “everything all right with you girls?

“Yeah,” she said. “Just wanted to let you know we're done.”

“All right,” he replied, “I'm going to call Clooney and they we'll go.”

“Roger that,” she acknowledged and disconnected the call.

Morgan opened the door a crack, heard no car coming and so he opened it a little more. He was about to call the dog, when Clooney came bounding towards him. He grinned. “Hey, Clooney,” he said as the large dog climbed over him to regain his favoured spot on the floor of the cab between Reid and him. Morgan closed the door and started up the engine. Spencer finished his coffee and scratched lightly behind Clooney's ear. Derek couldn't stop the smile pulling as his lips and he didn't want to, either. Reid turned and blinked questioningly at him but Morgan only grinned and shook his head. They drove in silence for maybe an hour, before Morgan attempted conversation again. “So,” he began, and Reid turned towards him. He was still petting Clooney gently, as if he was afraid any sudden movement would anger the dog. “About this Rothschild guy...”

“Yeah?” Reid asked.

“Who was he exactly?” Morgan flicked his eyes over to Reid for a moment before returning to the road ahead.

“He was my mother's colleague, from the University,” Reid said, and straightened up in his seat. Clooney settled down at his feet, curling up as if about to go for a nap. 

“Were they close?” Morgan questioned. “Like, maybe more than colleagues. Were they actual friends? Did they meet outside of work?”

Reid shifted uncomfortably. “He ah, he helped us. A lot.”

“How do you mean?”

“He's basically the reason why my mother was allowed to continue her work at the University,” Reid explained. “The board of directors wanted to fire her because of all of her absences, but he talked them into keeping her but giving her a part-time position instead.”

“Do you know why?” Morgan asked.

Reid shook his head. “She said she barely knew him before that. Like, they said hello when they met in the hallway, but that was about it. They became sort of friends after that.”

“Sort of?”

“Yeah, well,” Reid hesitated here, “I kind of wondered if maybe he had feelings for her. And they did have this sort of lunch date once a month or so, but...”

“But?” Morgan pressed on. He really needed to know what was going on. If Rothschild had planned all of this, it would mean he had been building up to the attack on the Aurora for a long, long time.

“Well, mom didn't see him outside of work other than those lunch dates,” Reid said.

Morgan nodded. “That thing where she was nearly fired, how long ago was it?”

Reid paused. “Eleven years, three months, two weeks and five days,” he said. “You think he was already planning something.”

It wasn't a question, but Morgan answered him anyway. “I think it's a possibility,” he said carefully.

Reid nodded. “He always seemed normal to me. I mean, I’ve thought about this over and over again, and I simply cannot think of any particular time when he was anything but gentlemanly towards both my mother and me.”

“You’ve already thought about it?” Morgan asked.

“Of course I have,” Reid said smartly, “the man was someone I considered – not quite a family friend, but a little more than an acquaintance, anyways. And then he he pulled a gun and pointed it at my face.”

“Point,” Morgan conceded. “So you couldn’t think of a single interaction where he acted suspicious in any way.”

Reid turned to look at him. “Are you asking me all of this for a reason or are you just trying to hold a conversation?”

Morgan hesitated. He wasn’t sure he should tell Reid, but the young doctor seemed like he already knew the answer to his question, and Morgan couldn’t see himself lying to the kid anyway. “There’s something I gotta tell you,” he said softly.

“Yeah, no, I got that,” Reid said. “So tell me.”

Morgan sighed softly. “Reid, the day your mother had her episode,” he began, and then he hesitated. 

Reid eyed him silently as Morgan argued with himself on how much to tell him. Finally, the young doctor lost patience. “What?” he asked. Morgan didn’t answer him fast enough so he asked again, “What?”

Morgan could tell that the younger man was getting increasingly nervous, so he rushed ahead, “Your mom had lunch with Rothschild just before she had her episode in class.”

“Oh, no.” Reid suddenly went so white that Morgan stopped the vehicle so he could turn to face him and get him his undivided attention. “No, gods, no,” the kid was shaking his head slowly. “Tell me you’re kidding. This has to, this has to be a joke.”

“It’s not,” Morgan said as gently as he could. “Reid, um,” he hesitated again.

“No,” the young doctor repeated, pulling lightly at his hair. 

Morgan grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer, managing to somehow wrap his arm around him at the same time. Clooney sat up and looked at them curiously. After a short hesitation, he licked at Reid’s other hand. “Shh,” Morgan said gently, “I got you. I got you, baby.” Reid melted against him nearly instantly and Morgan petted his back. He could hear Clooney snuffling and licking at Reid’s hands. “I got you,” he repeated.

Reid took a slow, deep breath. “What has he done to her?” he asked after a moment.

“I don’t know, kid,” Morgan said with a sigh. “I don’t know.” He ran the flat of his hands down Reid’s back. Left hand on shoulder, press down all the way to his waist as his right hand settled on his other shoulder. Then as this one went down, he brought his left hand back up. Right hand, left hand, right hand, left hand.

Eventually, Reid settled against him. Morgan was surprised at first that Garcia hadn't pinged them to ask what was going on, but then he realized she probably at least suspected that he and Reid were discussing Rothschild. He supposed she was keeping the other girls off of his back, too. When everything was said and done, he probably owed the techie a huge basket of flowers or something. Digital ones. There was no way Morgan could afford the real things.

He kept running his hands down Reid's back, long after the younger man had relaxed against his chest. He felt the young doctor bury his face against his neck and he held him tight for a second. “We'll figure this out,” he assured him. Reid nodded against his shoulder. Morgan gave him one last squeeze and let go. “Don't worry your pretty little head, Doc.” Reid made a face at him and he grinned, anticipating what he was going to say. “Oh, I know, I know, worrying's what you _do_. See? I'm starting to get to know you, boy.” Reid shook his head with a little huff that sounded more amused than annoyed. Morgan pinged the other car. “Sorry for the hold up, girls,” he said. “We're about to leave again, if you're good.”

Garcia's face appeared on the windshield. “What if we're naughty?” she asked with a grin.

“Then how about you return the favour for this morning and film it?” he challenged.

“Mm,” she grinned. “Maybe I will, but you only get as good as you gave. You're free to put on another show anytime you want.”

Morgan turned towards Reid and arched an eyebrow. The young doctor was adamant, “No way.”

Morgan tilted his head towards him, facing the camera again. “So he says.”

“Colour me disappointed,” Penelope said. “We're good to go whenever.” She disconnected the call.

Morgan turned to Reid, grinned at him and gave him two solid claps on the top of his thigh, then he put the car in drive. The fact that Reid managed to give him a little smile in return made him feel a little better. He really didn't want to upset Reid like this, but at least the younger man looked a little better now. Morgan didn't know what was going to happen when he got to the Aurora, but that was still some way ahead, and he wasn't one to plan things in advance anyway.

They drove in silence for some time. After an hour or so, Reid picked up his reading pad. Morgan was kind of dying to know what the young doctor was looking at. Never again would he assume the kid was just reading on physics or history. He kind of hoped Reid was doing the _other_ kind of research. Then, he mentally kicked himself. Poor guy just had a near-breakdown and here Morgan was, thinking about sex. Just then, Reid placed the end of his stylus in his mouth.

Oh for fuck's sake. He was _trying_ to keep his thoughts PG-rated, here.

Reid caught him looking and he looked about to ask, but then he coloured slightly and he lowered the stylus hastily. Morgan fixed his gaze firmly on the windshield. He tightened his hands on the wheel. “Sorry,” he said, because, well, it wasn't exactly the best timing.

Reid shook his head. “It's fine,” he said. A pause. “More than fine.”

“Yeah?” Morgan wanted to know.

“Yeah,” Reid replied. “Just, maybe not while you're driving. I kind of want to reach Devon in one piece.

Morgan chuckled. “How about we just eat dinner in the tent tonight?” he asked him. And he wasn't really thinking about getting lucky. Not really. He really wanted to make sure Reid was okay. “We can chill and you can tell me about the relative state thingamagig.”

“Relative state formulation,” Reid corrected immediately.

“That,” Morgan said, not bothering to correct himself. “You can tell me all about it.”

“You don't really want to know about relative state formulation, do you?” Reid turned a doubtful look on him.

“Actually,” Morgan answered, “I do. Sounds interesting.” Reid narrowed his eyes doubtfully at him, and Morgan fought with himself not to get annoyed. Why couldn't the guy just trust him?

“Why, though?” Reid asked.

Morgan shrugged in what he hoped was an offhand manner. “I dunno,” he said lightly, “sounds a bit like something you'd see in a science fiction holofilm or something.”

Reid tilted his head at him. “I guess it does,” he said slowly after a moment. “All right, I'll tell you about it.” A pause. “You'd better make it worth my time, though,” he added with a teasing smile that made Morgan want to grab him and snog him breathless.

“You say that like you wouldn't actually ramble on and on about it for hours without any promise of payback,” he sent back and got a wider grin and a soft laugh in return.

“Touché,” Reid said and pulled up his reading pad again.

Morgan eyed it. “So what'cha readin' about?” he wanted to know.

* * *


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A more defined thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Reid totally jumped on me with this talk. It wasn't supposed to happen for a few more chapters, and well... Then it turned into sexy. **NSFW.**_

* * *

**Chapter 19 **

Morgan brought dinner into their tent and put the plates on the table. Reid set his tablet down by the side of the bed and wandered over. He leaned into Morgan easily, placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth before sliding into the closest chair. The smuggler arched his eyebrows at him. “What was that for?” he wanted to know.

Reid shrugged. “I just felt like it,” he said and he picked up his utensils.

Morgan slid into the seat across from him. “I wasn't complaining,” he said. He started on his food. “So about that relative state _formulation_ ,” he began, putting emphasis on the word, now that he remembered the exact phrase.

“You're actually serious about that?” Reid wanted to know.

“Or you could tell me what you were reading about all day,” Morgan challenged.

“Sailycaspsis fossils and the Cambrian period on planet Earth,” Reid answered easily. “Then I went on to read about the negative aether-drift experiments.”

“Huh,” Morgan said blankly, because that was all that came to mind. Then he blinked, “You're pulling my leg, aren't you.” Reid had a little smile that attempted to look innocent and utterly failed at producing the desired effect. “Oh, you totally are!” Morgan lightly bumped the tip of his boot against Reid's shoe. “You were doing _research_ , weren't you.”

“That's what I said,” Reid said smartly.

Morgan grinned. He couldn't help it. He didn't even try to stop it. “Huh,” he said, “you're cute when you're being clever.”

“Does that mean that you always think that I'm cute?”

“Pretty much,” Morgan agreed easily. Reid actually looked surprised. Derek frowned at him. “What's with the look?” he wanted to know.

The young doctor shrugged uncomfortably. “Sorry,” he said with a little wince.

“No, seriously.” Morgan's frown intensified. He tried to read Spencer's expression, but he couldn't figure it out. “What is with the look? You really think I'd have touched your cock if I didn't find you attractive?”

“Gah!” Reid lowered his head behind his hand, but Derek could see the blush plain as day. “It's not like that,” Reid said when he'd mastered himself. “I'm just not used to receiving compliments, that's all. Not sincere ones anyway. Usually they were just sarcastic. And that's the thing.” He peeked up at him. “I know you actually mean it and I just, I just don't know how to react, all right?”

Oh. Well, that made sense. But why would people jeer at someone like Spencer? The guy was amazing! He was smart, obviously, brilliant even! And he looked great, too. Morgan loved how his hair was always rebelliously sticking in every direction, curling around his ears and over his forehead. And he'd never seen a girl with prettier eyes and he had dated a _lot_ of pretty girls. Admittedly, Spencer was quirky. That was precisely what made him so endearing, though. He paused. He vaguely remembered his first meeting with the young doctor. He'd thought Reid completely wacked back then, a guy who would eventually turn into one of those mad scientists you'd see in a horror or scifi flick. One that'd end up creating dangerous aliens on a far-off planet somewhere or maybe invent time-travel and end up ripping the very fabric of the universe. He sat back, frowning lightly to himself.

“What's wrong?” Spencer asked him.

“Just thinkin',” Morgan answered with a shrug. “Anyway, you're going to have to get used to receiving compliments.”

“Uh, okay.” Reid shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “Why?”

Morgan levelled a flat look at him. “Because I like giving them,” he answered. “Well, I like making fun of people, too, but unlike the other jerks, I'm kidding when I tease and serious when I compliment, a'ight?”

Reid chuckled. “All right,” he agreed. They ate in silence for a while, but then Spencer said, “This Emily Prentiss...” He hesitated. Morgan arched an eyebrow at him and the young doctor finished, “Is she, ah, is she pretty?”

Morgan grinned. “Jealous?” he wanted to know.

Reid shrugged lightly. With just his right shoulder. “Curious,” he corrected.

“Hot as all get-out,” Derek answered, then he watched Spencer's face, trying to read his expression. The young doctor frowned pensively to himself for a moment, slowly twirling his fork between his long fingers. “Good fighter, too,” Morgan added. “Not scared of anything. Well, terrified of rats, but don't let her know I told you or she'll have my head. Rodents in general are fine, just – not rats.”

“Why couldn't you commit?” Reid asked, and Morgan inwardly swore. Well, Spencer _had_ said that he wasn't jealous, and Derek had wanted to test that, but he'd ended up digging his own grave.

He thought for a moment, feeling Spencer's gaze weigh heavily on him. “I think,” he finally said carefully, “we both went in knowing that it wouldn't last. It was just for fun, you know? For release. We had problems, but because we both knew we weren't in for the long run, neither of us addressed those issues. We just pretended they weren't there. I think we were both actually relieved when we split.”

Spencer nodded slowly, obviously thinking his answer over. Morgan glanced at him every once in a while between bites, but he tried not to stare. He got the feeling Reid needed to figure some things out, and he wouldn't be able to think clearly if he got too nervous because of Derek staring him down. Morgan finished his plate, pushed it aside and he'd just picked up his cup of water when Reid said, “I don't think I can do it.”

Of all the things he expected to hear him say, this hadn't crossed his mind. “Do what?” he asked, because he needed to confirm it. It felt a little unfair, though. Reid was the one who had started all of this, after all.

“That,” Reid answered, then specified, “Get into a relationship for fun and release without actual feelings involved.”

Oh.

Morgan relaxed somewhat. So this was what it was about. He could deal with that. “You want a proper, exclusive type of relationship?” he asked.

Spencer hesitated, then nodded. “If it doesn't work, then it doesn't work. But if we're going to be involved, then I need to know that we are both going to do everything to, to get somewhere. With this.”

Morgan thought about that for a moment. “Well, you're a pretty black and white kinda guy,” he finally said. “Okay.”

Reid looked up from where he'd been staring at his plate, looking like he expected rejection. Again. “What?” he asked.

“I said, _Okay_ ,” Morgan repeated patiently. “If this is how you need it to be, I'm cool with that. Don't look at me like that. I kind of want to see where this goes, too.”

“You're serious.” Spencer looked surprised and Derek wondered if he should feel affronted.

He shrugged and said, “Sure.” The smile he got in return made it all kinds of right. Well, huh. It seemed he'd somehow lost a ship and acquired a boyfriend on this insane little trip. Life was weird like that, sometimes.

“So, uh,” Spencer said awkwardly, “what happens now?”

Derek shrugged lightly. “I dunno, depends what you want to happen.”

“But what do people usually do when they somehow end up together like this?”

Morgan chuckled. “Kiss and seal the deal, I guess.”

Reid had an amused little smile. He pushed his plate and got up, went around the small table and stopped beside Morgan's chair. Derek reached around him and gently pulled him closer with a hand against the back of his thigh. It was a gentle pull, certainly not something that would trip up the younger man. Reid took a step closer, then looked adorably confused for a moment. “Should I, uh, lower myself a bit?” he asked. “This feels a little awkward.”

Morgan chuckled. “C'mere,” he said, and he pulled on Reid for the young doctor to straddle his lap.

Spencer laughed, somewhat breathlessly. “I feel like Garcia's going to call or yell anytime soon, now,” he said.

Morgan grinned. “Well, let's just hurry and get on with it, then. You know, before we're interrupted again.”

Reid laughed softly again and glanced at the door. Then, he leaned into the older man, wrapping his arm around the back of his neck. He looked at him for a moment, studying his face before he leaned in and pressed his lips against Morgan's. He angled his head and parted his lips, letting Derek push his tongue into his mouth. Spencer shifted forward and pressed against him, dragging a groan from the older man. Morgan slid his hands up to stroke the side of his waist. Up and down he went, then around to grab Spencer's ass, pulling him closer. Reid broke the kiss so he could throw his head back. He rocked forward and Morgan nipped at his throat, making him moan and rock forward again. The chair creaked.

They both froze and held completely immobile. Reid very carefully pulled away from Morgan and got up. He chuckled. “I don't think this chair was made to support the weight of two grown men.”

“Yeah,” Morgan agreed and he stood. “Anyway, we should clean this up.”

“And then go to bed?” Reid asked hopefully.

Morgan chuckled and grinned at him. Spencer had one of his crooked half-smiles and he turned to the table to start clearing it. Morgan helped, then they both joined the girls to do the dishes, Garcia looked at them and gave them such a bright smile that Morgan wondered if she had spied on them somehow. Ashley was chore-free since she cooked for them, and she was playing with Clooney, keeping the dog thankfully busy. Morgan and Reid excused themselves as quickly as they politely could and made their way back to their tent.

Morgan had just barely closed the door when Reid grabbed him and kissed him fiercely. The smuggler grinned against his lips. He just loved it when Spencer got all assertive like this. He pushed against him, his hands on the young doctor's hips, making him take a step back. Reid pushed back against him, though it wasn't hard enough to make Morgan back off. The smuggler felt more than saw Reid grin against his mouth. They wrestled kind of half-heartedly for a bit, and soon, breathless laughter mingled with soft little moans. Derek slid his hands up Spencer's sides and as he raked them down, he pulled at the sash, which easily came undone. He let it slide to the floor and Reid took a step back to undo his belt. He'd barely managed to unfasten the buckle that Morgan took a step forward, which impeded his action. He huffed softly in mock-annoyance and Morgan grinned again.

Reid said, “You don't get to take off my tunic until I get yours, this time.”

“Oh yeah?” Derek had always loved a good challenge. “We'll see about that!”

Spencer eyed him suspiciously. “What are you plotting now?” he asked.

“Mm,” Morgan hummed, then sang, “ _no~thing!_ ”

“I don't believe you for a minute,” Reid huffed.

“Now, now,” the smuggler said with a grin, “that's not a very nice thing to say to your new boyfriend. You hurt my feelings, you know.”

“I'm sure,” Reid replied with a little smile, then added, “Boyfriend?”

Morgan eyed him. “What, wasn't that what you were leading up to with the talk we had?”

“Yeah,” Spencer said, “but I didn't think I'd hear it this clearly.”

“Well, get used to it,” Derek said with a grin. “I like calling things as I see 'em.”

Reid smiled. “I could definitely get used to it.”

“Good,” Morgan said, and he pushed the young doctor onto the bed. “Now, I believe we were kinda busy with something.”

Reid toed off his shoes and pushed himself backwards on the mattress while Morgan sat on the edge to get out of his boots. He placed them neatly beside the bed, then twisted around and crawled after Reid. The young doctor was already reaching out for him by the time Morgan got near him, and his hand wrapped around the back of Morgan's neck, pulling him down for a kiss. Derek indulged him easily, slipping his hands under Reid's tunic. He raked them up, letting the fabric bunch up, and Reid broke the kiss to throw his head back, letting out a soft breath that turned into a moan when Morgan added a bit of nails.

Hot _damn_.

“Morgan,” the young doctor moaned softly and the smuggler raked his hands down, trying to get him to react again. He was not disappointed. Reid arched against him, and Morgan slid an arm under the young doctor, going for another kiss. He deepened it right away, and pushed a thigh between Reid's, feeling his erection through the thin fabric of his pants. “Morgan!” Reid cried out again, effectively breaking the kiss. Morgan went for his throat instead. He nipped at it, with just an edge of teeth. Reid pushed his hips up and Morgan groaned in response. He wanted to feel naked skin.

He pulled away slightly and Reid made a soft, questioning sound, so he smiled reassuringly at him. He started pulling the younger man's tunic off, but then Reid seemed to remember that they had a little challenge going on, so he batted his hand away and pulled at the belt so it came completely undone. He chucked it aside. Morgan tried taking Reid's tunic off again, but the younger man pushed his hands again, trying to get to Derek's own top. A short friendly scuffle ensued, and they were soon both laughing and panting softly.

Derek ran his fingers lightly over Spencer's ribs under his tunic, and the younger man made a strangled sound that sounded somewhere between a laugh and moan. He arched up, and his thigh pushed against Derek's crotch, making him groan. They eyed each other for a moment, and then they were kissing hungrily, hands running all over each other, touching, caressing. Reid managed to unzip Morgan's top and he pushed it off of his shoulders, effectively winning the challenge, though he could care less about it right at this moment. Morgan growled and practically ripped Reid's tunic off. Then they were kissing again, touching naked skin now.

Morgan experimentally ran his hands up Reid's sides and flicked his nipples with the nails of his thumbs. Reid made a strangled little sound and arched off the bed again. Morgan nipped at his throat, making the younger man moan softly. Derek sat up. “Pants,” he said, and hooked his fingers in the waistband of Reid's trousers. He pulled them off easily, then did the same with his underwear. Then he took a moment to just look at him. If anyone had told him that one day, he was going to fuck a scrawny, nerdy pale guy, he would have laughed. Yet there he was. And Reid looked, well, Reid looked downright fuckable, that's what he looked like. His hair fanned all around his head, some strands clinging to his face. His lips were dark and wet and his face was flushed. Morgan wanted him pretty badly. He groaned. “Reid,” he said. “Damn, man. Why you gotta look like that?”

Reid's eyes focused on his. “Like what?” he panted softly.

“Like sex,” Morgan said and went down for a kiss, while undoing his own pants. “I wanna fuck you so bad, but there's no shower or water to clean up with after.”

The groan that Reid let out sounded pretty disappointed to Morgan. “So what do we do?” he asked.

Morgan grinned. “I can still make you come,” he assured him, right as he wrapped his warm hand around him. He stroked him twice slowly, and Reid moaned, then tried to pull at Morgan's pants. The older man let go and pushed himself up into a kneeling position so he could get out of them, managing to get them halfway down his thighs. He sat down so he could get them completely off. Reid crawled over to him and kissed him. Morgan chuckled against his lips and pulled him down so they could both lie sideways. He pulled him close, loving the feel of naked skin against his.

When their cocks touched, they both groaned, and Reid's kiss got harsher, more insistent. Morgan grabbed his ass cheek and pulled him closer, making the younger man moan again and break the kiss. “Fuck, Morgan!” he breathed out and holy hell but Spencer swearing was _sexy_.

“Say that again,” he groaned, then went for his throat, intent on leaving a mark there.

Reid gasped and moaned again, low in his throat. “ _Fuck_ , Morgan!” he panted, and _that_ had to be the absolute most erotic thing Morgan had ever heard.

“Do you want to come?” he asked, his mouth next to Reid's ear. “Do you want me to make you come?”

“Oh gods, please!” Reid breathed out and Morgan chuckled. He wrapped his hand around him again, stroking him slowly, gently. “Faster,” Reid urged. Morgan slowed down, until Reid begged again, “Faster!”

Morgan grinned and complied, this time. He stroked him firmly, intent on taking him over the edge this time. Reid's voice got louder and he really hoped the fabric of the tent was soundproof enough that the girls wouldn't hear. He saw the hickey he had left on Reid's pale throat, and he went for another one, latching his mouth onto the white skin of Spencer's neck. He sucked hard, probably a little too hard, but Reid just moaned louder. He sped up the movement of his hand, and Reid started panting harshly and pushing his hips forward. A strangled groan and he threw his head back. Morgan pulled away from his throat to look at Spencer's face as his orgasm washed over him. It was amazing. He watched him intently, pumping his hand until he was sure Reid was done. The young doctor finally relaxed, panting harshly. Morgan picked up the tunic he'd worn that day and wiped off the come from his hand and Reid's stomach.

It took Reid a moment to come back to his senses and he asked, “What about you?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said with a grin, “how are you going to make me come, Pretty Boy?” He sat back on his haunches and looked at him. The view was kind of nice, actually. Reid, completely naked, boneless on his bed, with his legs open like he'd just been thoroughly fucked. Morgan could totally get used to this.

Reid pushed himself up with one hand and looked at him, thin chest still heaving as he panted. “I could, ah,” he began, but then he hesitated for a moment. “Well, I kind of want to take your penis into my mouth again.”

Morgan chuckled. “Okay, this sounded halfway clinical and halfway dirty.”

Reid tilted his head. “Then, I want your cock in my mouth works better?”

Morgan's eyes fixed on Reid's and he grabbed him into a possessive hold, kissing him breathless before whispering, “Fuck, Pretty Boy, say that again!”

Reid licked his lips slowly – really it was ridiculous just how sexy his lips were – and opened his mouth, but that tongue had made Morgan snap, and whatever he was about to say ended up muffled into a sloppy, hungry kiss. Reid groaned, and his fingers tightened on Morgan's shoulders. He melted into him. When Morgan pulled away, Reid said slowly, “I want your cock in my mouth, Derek.”

“Fuck,” Morgan whispered. “I love it when you talk dirty!”

“Yeah, I sort of gathered,” Reid said with a little smile, and he pushed Morgan until the older man was flat on his back. Derek let him do it, and he leaned back onto his elbows, looking down at the young doctor who was kneeling between his legs. Spencer rubbed his hands together, probably making sure they weren't too cold, and Morgan grinned. But then Reid wrapped one of his hands around his cock and he groaned. He worked him slowly, with one hand, then both, until Morgan was as hard as he'd ever been. When his right hand wandered lower to touch his balls, Morgan groaned again.

Then Reid placed his lips over the tip of his erection and pushed his head down, taking the tip in. He bobbed his head a few times, then he took more in and it was so hot, so amazing and Morgan wanted to come so fucking bad. “Reid,” he groaned, then, “Oh gods, no, don't stop. Keep goin', keep goin'! I'm so fucking close.” Spencer went back to it, bobbing his head quickly, one hand around the base of his cock, the other playing with his balls. “Gods, yes,” Morgan said. “Just like that, baby. Gods, I'm so close!” Reid moaned around him and Morgan nearly lost it then and there. “Fuck, do that again. I think I'm gonna come!”

Reid moaned around his length again, then bobbed his head quickly up and down. Another moan and Derek lost it. He came with a low groan, hips pushing up against Reid's hand. He expected the younger man to pull away, but Spencer kept his mouth on him, until Morgan's come hit the back of his throat. He pulled off, coughing, and wiped the back of his hand over his mouth, his other hand still moving over Morgan until he was completely finished. Then he picked up the same tunic Morgan had used to clean him up. He coughed again. “Okay,” he said, “I might need a little practice for this part.”

Morgan chuckled. “C'mere,” he said and he pulled Reid down on top of him so he could kiss him deeply. It was a lazy, sloppy kiss but that was fine. He felt too boneless to move more than this. “All right,” he said when he pulled away, “we should at least put our pants back on, in case Garcia decides to sneak into out tent again. Reid crawled off of him to retrieve their discarded clothes. Once they were both decent enough for the girls not to get a free show, he pulled Reid close and they settled down for sleep.

* * *


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different kind of P-rep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Finally, Hotch and Prentiss join the gang._

* * *

**Chapter 20 **

Devon was a fairly big town for New Nevada. It wasn't exactly a bustling metropolis by any stretch of the imagination, but it did have enough residents to actually have a downtown. The little train they were driving would be hard to manoeuvre in town, so Morgan found a campground just outside and parked there. There were maybe three other vehicle there. Morgan took another look at the sign. Right below _Touareg welcome!_ it read _More than fifty places_. The owner might have been a little over-enthusiastic there.

He put the vehicle in park and pinged the girls' car. “Heya, beauties,” he hailed.

A moment later, Garcia's face appeared on the windshield. “Heya, chunk o' hot stuff,” she said. “I take it we're holing up in here until pretty Em gets to Devon?”

“Yup,” he replied. “A little sunshine and a bit of privacy.”

“Can we take two camps and make it a whole _lot_ of privacy?” She smirked.

Morgan blinked and glanced at Reid, but the young doctor was still reading on his pad, his left hand distractedly petting Clooney. “Sure thing, mama,” Morgan said, and he popped out to check into the main office. He got them two places, somewhat away from everything else and a short distance one from the other. Then he got back into the pull car and drove to one spot.

Just as he parked, Garcia's face reappeared on the screen. “Hey, mocha latte, got an incoming message from your precious Aurora.”

Morgan connected the call, “Seriously?” he asked, dreading that someone had gotten into his ship and was calling to taunt him.

“Seems to be a recorded message that she passed on to me.” Morgan sighed in relief. “Want it now or later?” Penelope asked.

“Now, please.”

“Oki d'ok,” she said and Morgan saw her type something.

Then, her face was replaced by another familiar one. “Hey, Rossi!” Morgan grinned, then belatedly remembered that it was a recording and the man couldn't actually see or hear him. Reid lowered his tablet and even Clooney perked up.

“Hey, kiddo,” Rossi was saying. “I've been hearing all kinds of crazy talk 'round here. So I figured I'd check things out a bit and left soon after you did. Now, the Kickin' Spats might not be as fast as your Sleeping Beauty, so I doubt I can make it to New Nevada until next week. Think you can last until the cavalry arrives? Anyway, I'm ah, oh shit.” A pause where Derek could see Rossi look around and move his arms as if he were checking his console screens and imputing things into them. “Well kiddo,” Rossi finally said, “seems like I'm under attack. Gotta hit you back some other time.” His face disappeared and was replaced by Garcia's.

“That's all there is,” she announced. “It's dated from last night, but the Aurora's just sent it to me.” She looked worriedly at Morgan. “Will he be okay?”

“I'm sure he'll be fine, baby girl,” he said, as convincingly as he could. “Rossi's amazing. He's seen his fair share of action, believe me.” Reid was still petting the dog, but he was looking at him, now. “A'ight,” Derek said, “I'm gonna unlatch the luggage car to leave it with the girls here,” Derek told him, “and then we'll go to our own camp, okay?”

Spencer nodded, “Yeah, okay.” He scratched Clooney behind the ear. “I suppose I should avoid going out, huh.”

Morgan loved how quick-thinking Reid was. “Yeah, I mean, I'll have to wear my mask all of the time, too. Just to be sure, you know?”

“Yeah,” Spencer said with a half-smile. “We have to stay in this town for a few days and we don't want a repeat of the other day.”

“Exactly,” Derek said, and he leaned in to smooch him on the lips, before securing his mask in place. He took a moment to appreciate the love bite he could just about see above the high collar of the tunic Reid had selected to wear that day. “I'll be right back,” Morgan finally added, rather unnecessarily. He walked over the back of the car and undid the connection between the pull vehicle and the luggage car. That done, he went to knock lightly on the girls' window. It opened and he was greeted with Ashley's bright, open smile. “We're here,” he told her. “Me an' Reid, we're going to take that spot over there.” He pointed.

“Okay,” she said.

Garcia leaned closer. “I guess starting now, we're officially your trained little monkeys, huh?” She was smiling and obviously wasn't upset about playing servant in the slightest.

“Guess so,” he said with a grin. He tapped the side of the door twice and pushed off. “See you in a bit? You know, 'round dinner time?”

“What'cha gonna do until then?” Penelope grinned saucily at him.

“Now, now, baby girl,” Morgan replied with a grin of his own, “I don't kiss and tell, you know that.”

“Alas for my poor, voyeuristic heart,” she sighed dramatically.

“Indeed,” Morgan said easily. He watched another vehicle drive onto the campground but it veered away from them to a spot on the other side of the entrance. “All right,” he added finally, “I'm going to set up the tent for the wife. See you girls later.” He made his way back to the front car and slid behind the wheel. Spencer was half smooshed over, head jammed under the console in an effort to get to Clooney, who was on the floor of the cab, all four feet in the air and getting a full-on belly rub. Derek couldn't help grinning as he pulled down his mask. “Dog's got you trained,” he teased.

“Shut up,” Reid huffed as he straightened up.

Morgan just grinned at him, drove the few metres separating them from the other camp and parked. “You stay in,” he told Reid, pulling his mask back up, “I'll open up the tent for you.” The young doctor nodded and Morgan got out of the car. He left Clooney with Reid for company, though he had no doubt the dog was just as desperate as they all were to stretch out his legs. Morgan glanced at the other camp where the girls had started what looked like a tickle war, judging by the laughing squeals and shrieks. Shaking his head, he went over to the back of the car and entered the passcode, then pulled the lever and the side panels started pivoting outwards. He stood there, watching the tent open up, thinking back on the past crazy month he'd just had. He hoped, damn, he hoped Rossi was all right. He owed a lot to the old pirate, and he'd hate to be the cause of the man's misfortune, if anything happened to him or his ship. After all, it was thank to Rossi that he'd manage to start his life anew after... well, _after_. Morgan wasn't sure what to call what had happened ten years prior.

The next few days went by quietly enough, compared to their trip so far. There was nowhere they were supposed to be, nothing they were supposed to be doing and no one ever got near them. The second morning they were at the site, Ashley knocked on the platform just in front of the tent door. “Guys?” she called out. “Are you decent? Can I come in?”

They were bare-chest, but Morgan wasn't body shy so he said, “Yeah, come in!” Reid scrambled to put his tunic from the previous day back on, though, making the smuggler laugh.

Ashley was careful not to open the door more than was strictly necessary. “Brought you breakfast and coffee,” she said, as she walked in, carrying a large tray which she set down on the table. “And Penny said that Emily Prentiss called her to tell her she was in Devon. She wanted to know if you wanted to go downtown with her to meet with your friend. Jordan could stay here to act as bodyguard for Reid. I'm going to stay here, too.”

“Yeah, I'll go,” Morgan said.

Ashley nodded and served coffee into two large mugs. Reid slid into his usual chair. The girl blinked at him, then hid a giggle behind one hand. The young doctor paused with his mug halfway to his mouth. “What?” he asked uncertainly.

“Your neck,” Ashley said. “I swear, every single time I see you, you have more hickeys.”

Reid hastily put a hand over the side of his neck closest to the young woman. “What? Again?!” He turned an affronted look on the smuggler. “Morgan!”

The smuggler grinned, completely unapologetic. “What can I say? You look good in dark colours.”

“Screw you,” Reid hissed.

“Anytime,” Morgan replied easily, and Ashley coughed to cover another laugh.

“I don't really need to be advertising _my boyfriend's bored_ for miles around,” Spencer griped and finally took his first sip of coffee, which occupied his mouth long enough to allow Derek to place a kiss on the top of his messy mass of curls.

“Love you too,” he said teasingly and went around the table to slide into his chair.

“Aww,” Ashley gushed. “Okay, I'll let you two lovebirds have your space. Morgan, Penny said if you were coming you should make sure you're ready in an hour, tops. And, I quote, _none of that fashionably late business from him, I mean it_ , end quote.”

Morgan chuckled. “All right, all right, I'll be there.”

“Hmm,” Ashley glanced at Reid.

“I'll make sure he's on time,” the young doctor assured her.

She nodded. “Okay, then.”

“Hey,” Morgan protested, “why're you trusting him over me?”

“Because I'm trustworthy,” Reid said firmly, waving at Ashley as the girl turned towards them just before she hopped off of the platform.

Morgan waved too, but she'd already let the door fall shut. He turned back towards Reid, “And I'm not?”

“You're a smuggler, Morgan.” As if that was an answer.

“So? Smugglers can be trustworthy, too. Plus, she doesn't know I am.”

“Then I guess Garcia just let her know how good you are with keeping up appointments.”

“Says the guy who can't ever wake up in the morning,” Morgan sent back.

“I'm awake,” Reid pointed out, which was true. And now that he mentioned it, the guy did seem to have an easier time of waking up these days.

Morgan suddenly frowned at him. “Wait, how do you know about this? I never had to meet with you anywhere, we've been glued together since I met you.”

Reid grinned over the rim of his coffee mug. “I didn't. I'm just teasing.”

Morgan breathed out a chuckle. “Oh, I'll get you back for this.”

“Hm,” Reid hummed into his coffee.

As it turned out, an hour later, he had to push Morgan out of the tent, mask barely on, tunic in one hand. Morgan tried to steal one last kiss, not really because he desperately needed one, but just so he could rile up the younger man a bit more. Reid laughed and side stepped him, then he shut the door in his face. Morgan could have easily pushed back in – it was a tent after all, not a bunker – but decided not to push his luck. He slipped his tunic on, making his way over to the girls' camp. There was a city car parked next to the tent.

“He's on time!” Garcia called out as soon as she saw him. “I should have gotten you a wife years ago, if I had known it'd be so easy to keep you in line.”

“Oh, shut up,” Morgan said with a grin. “What's this? Rental?” He motioned to the red little shiny thing with his chin.

“Yup,” she said. “We can't really drive the train in-town, but we still have to get around somehow, so I figured I'd rent a vehicle, and since I'm renting anyway, it might as well look good, you know?”

“All right,” Morgan said as he slid behind the wheel while Garcia took the passenger seat, “where to, mama?”

The drive into town didn't take very long, but driving downtown took the rest of the morning. Morgan understood why Garcia had them leave as early as she had, even though they had agreed to meet with Prentiss for lunch. Morgan was ready to bet that each and every single inhabitant from the entire solar system was out and about in downtown Devon. Adding to that, the place was a total headache of tiny winding one way streets that soon had him totally lost, or would have, if not for the computer. Two blocks from the place where they were supposed to meet, he had had enough. He parked.

“We'll finish on foot,” he said darkly, and Garcia laughed.

“Sure,” she said. “I was about to go mad from twitching every time you hit that damn steering wheel.”

“I wasn't that bad,” Morgan protested, then he caught her look and he pulled his mask up over the lower part of his face. “All right, let's go, then. I think a little bit of walking would do me good. I'm about to go stir crazy.”

He waited in front of the car for her to meet up with him and he offered her his arm, which she declined. “Your wife's handmaiden, remember?” she said.

He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. Together, they made their way down the few blocks that separated them from the downtown plaza. Morgan was the first to spot Prentiss, sitting at a cafe, dressed in the same type of high-collared shirt he remembered was her favourite, large shades over her eyes, a cup of coffee in front of her, one thumbnail at her mouth. So she still bit her nails. He was about to hail her, when he noticed a tall man with black hair stop by her. She started and pushed her shades up, a bright smile on her face. New boyfriend? Maybe he shouldn't bother them just yet then. They still had a good twenty minutes before they were supposed to meet anyway.

“There she is,” Garcia suddenly said. Then she called, “Emily!” before Morgan had time to quiet her. Prentiss looked their way and waved them over. They made their way across the plaza and Emily got up to greet them.

“Penelope Garcia,” she said with a smile, “it's so good to see you! And Morgan! You old pirate, you haven't changed a bit. I mean, from what I can see of you.”

“And who is that gorgeous young man?” Garcia said after she'd air-kissed on either side of Prentiss' face in that weird way that girls did sometimes – an age-old tradition dating back to Earth.

“Ah, Penelope, Morgan, meet Hotch,” Prentiss said.

Morgan shook the hand he was offered. “Hotch?” he asked.

“Aaron Hotchner,” the man said.

“Nice meetin' ya, Hotch,” Morgan said. “You new on Prentiss' ship or somethin'? I don't remember you from when I travelled with her.”

“Ah, no,” Prentiss cut in. “We just run into each other all of the time. We both travel a lot for work.”

“Ah, okay.” Morgan looked slowly from one to the other. He couldn't imagine Prentiss hanging out with the guy, honestly. He looked like a total stiff. “Well, we were going to grab a bite and we have reservations, so...”

Prentiss nodded slowly. “Well,” she said, “it was nice to see you, Hotch.”

“Here,” the man said and pushed something into Prentiss' hand, “if you need anything, contact me, all right? I mean it.”

Prentiss frowned, obviously confused. “Wait, why would I...?”

“Listen,” Hotch interrupted, “you're the captain of the Fiery Maiden, right?” He didn't wait for an answer. “I've known for a while, now.”

“So it's you,” she said, much more coldly, and Morgan had the distinct impression that he had just stumbled into a minefield. “You're the one –”

“There's no time,” Hotch said, cutting her short again. “Listen to me, I can help. Hell is going to break loose and you need all of the help you can get. I can help you. Let me help you.”

“There!” someone suddenly called out. “That's the one.” Morgan spun around and found a group of about a dozen men. One of them was pointing at Prentiss. “She was the one from that videocall we intercepted, which means the ones with her...” His eyes zeroed in on Morgan. He walked closer, followed by his cronies. “You must be Derek Morgan,” the man said when he was close enough to be heard by Morgan's little party but no one around them. “I suggest you come with us. Peacefully. Who knows what we'll do to your lady-friends if you don't.”

“What is your business with Mr. Morgan?” Hotch demanded with surprising authority, and really, couldn't the guy mind his own business? He was going to step into a whole mess of trouble and he didn't even know.

“Hey, back off, pal,” one of the men growled warningly.

“No,” Hotch said, very calmly taking something out of his pocket. Everyone tensed, but Hotch continued, “I suggest _you_ back off.” He showed what he had in his hand. It was a black rectangle. Hotch pressed his finger on it and a green line scanned the rectangle from top to bottom, no doubt getting his fingerprint and authorizing the display. Great, just great. It was a bloody badge. “Senior Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner of the Intergalactic Bureau of Investigation. If you have business with this gentleman here, I suggest you keep it legal.”

“It's a damn P-rep!” the man who seemed to be the leader of the bunch said unnecessarily. He pointed at Morgan. “You, you won't always have the P-reps to hide behind and when we get you on your own...”

Hotch calmly flicked his earpiece on. “This is Hotchner, requesting backup at the Devon Centre Plaza.”

“We're goin', we're goin'!” one of the men said, raising his arms in surrender. “No need to call more P-reps, we're gone, seen?”

Hotch stood and watched them go, staring warningly at their retreating backs. Then Prentiss hissed, “Is this how you're going to help me?!” she demanded. “By calling every damn P-rep in town? If you know who I am, you know this is _not_ going to help me at all.”

Hotch lifted one corner of his mouth in a sort of crooked half-smile. “I didn't call anyone,” he said. “Now you should get out of here before they figure it out. I'll say it again, Emily Prentiss. I want to help you.”

“But you're a P-rep!” she protested.

“I'm not like most P-reps,” he said, and Morgan had to agree with him.

No, Aaron Hotchner definitely wasn't like most P-reps.

* * *


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparing to board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Cute and fun, I guess. Next chappie, they get a cabin with a shower and you know what this means, don't you?_

* * *

**Chapter 21 **

“Got our tickets – whoa,” Garcia moved her head back and pulled the tent door closed as fast as she could. “Sorry,” she added, her voice muffled through the fabric of the tent, though she was obviously speaking louder so that they could actually hear her, “should have asked if you were decent, first.”

“Be out in a minute,” Morgan called out from the couch and he grinned at Reid. “Sorry, babe,” he said and he gave him a quick kiss on the lips, before getting up. “Good news is, with tickets, we'll have a cabin soon.” He leaned over him for another kiss, hand closing over his tunic at the same time. “With a shower.” He straightened up and put his top back on. “I'll be back, okay? Can you gather our stuff so we can take it aboard the ship while I go talk with Garcia?”

“Sure,” Reid said, somewhat dejectedly. Then he raked a hand through his hair and said, “Sure thing, Morgan.” His tone was lighter, this time. He obviously got the reason why a shower was very good news and it definitely wasn't just so it'd be easier to wash themselves everyday.

Morgan grinned and opened the door. Garcia was standing about a metre away and she smiled when she saw him. He hopped off the platform. “So what are we going to do about the luggage?” he asked her, taking the electronic card from her. He glanced at the small display. Five passengers in two cabins, one with a king sized bed and one with two queens. He frowned and asked, “what about Prentiss?”

“She bought her ticket separately,” Garcia said with a grin. “I pretended to meet her while standing in line at the ticket office.” Her grin widened significantly. “I just happened to overhear that she bought two tickets. I'm guessing she and her scrumptious, tall, dark and mysterious P-rep had a little talk yesterday after we left her. You know, a talk that happened sort of horizontally.”

Morgan eyed her. “Your mind's in the gutter again.”

“If not for the gutter, it would be sad and homeless,” she replied.

Morgan laughed and eyed his electronic ticket again. “So we have about four hours to pack up and go?”

“Yup,” she said, “and to sell this little train baby.” She shrugged. “I can't say I'll be sad to let it go. There's no point in keeping the thing anymore.”

“How do we get it in town?” he asked.

Garcia took out her reading pad and unrolled the screen. Once powered, she opened the map file and showed him. “See here? Just follow the road closest to the ocean and we can get to the harbour. It's the only road large enough. I'll meet you there after I've returned the rental cherry.”

“Cherry?” he frowned at her. “You mean the car don't you.”

“Well it looks like a cherry, so it named itself,” she said with a grin. “I've told the girls to start packing our stuff so I'm going to return it now. Meet you there?”

“Yeah,” he said easily, and waved. She turned and walked back to the girls' camp. Clooney came running, pausing by Garcia when they crossed path to sniff politely at her, wag his tail as she petted his head, and then he was running towards Morgan again. He bounced excitedly all around him, snuffling and licking at his hands whenever he could. Morgan laughed and playfully moved as if he were going to pounce on him. Clooney lowered his front, tail wagging. Morgan played with him a bit, then a thought occurred to him and he glanced at his electronic ticket again. He scrolled the small screen to read the rest of the text. Ah, there, they were listed as bringing a large dog aboard and they were responsible for feeding the animal and cleaning any mess he could make, as well as liable to pay for damage the animal would do to the ship. Standard stuff. Good. Morgan was glad for this. This dog was seriously the best in the world and Morgan simply wouldn't part with it anymore. There was just no way.

Reid came out of the tent, carrying two backpacks in which he'd stuffed clothes and their everyday necessities to take with them to their cabin while the rest of the luggage would go into the hull of the ship. Clooney bounded towards him and Reid stopped short. “Whoa, Clooney, calm down, you'll make me drop this!”

Morgan grinned. “Got everything?” he asked, though he was pretty sure Reid had. He seemed like he'd be very thorough in anything he did.

“Yep,” Reid said, taking the few steps that separated them, while trying not to trip over the dog who was dancing all around him excitedly.

“Good,” Morgan said. “Let's close this tent and get in the cab. We'll drive to the girl's camp and then into town.”

“What about the air mattress?” Reid asked. “I left it under the table because I don't think we're going to need it anymore.”

Morgan shrugged. “Bring it,” he said. “If there's room for it, Clooney could sleep on it.”

“Hands are full,” Reid said, lifting his hands to show Morgan. “Can you get it while I put this in the cab?”

Morgan shook his head. “Yes ma'am,” he teased, earning himself an amused fake-pout from the younger man. He grinned at him and hopped up the two steps up onto the platform. He pushed the door aside and quickly spotted the mattress that he put away in its carry bag. He grabbed it and gave the tent one last cursory glance. Everything seemed in place. He went back outside and hopped off the platform. He pulled the lever that would close up the tent and spent the time it took to close completely playing with the dog. When the vehicle was ready to go, he let Clooney climb into the cab first and then slid behind the controls. It was kind of cramped with the two of them, the luggage and the dog, but it was only for the drive into town. “All right,” he told Reid with a grin, “let's do this.”

“Do what?” the young doctor asked and Morgan had to shake his head. Reid could be so damn literal, sometimes.

“Drive to the girl's camp,” he answered and put the vehicle in reverse. One of his screens showed the back and he made sure the coast was clear before he started backing out of the little parking space. He went just far enough to have room to turn around without hitting the fence, then drove slowly all the way to the girls camp and Reid got out of the cab to direct him while he tried to line up the pull car with the luggage one so they could reconnect them. Once they managed to get everything positioned just right, he got out of the car and walked over to Reid, Clooney trotting behind him. “You're a bossy wife, you know that?” he asked with a shake of his head and soft, amused huff.

“Shut up,” Reid said and Ashley laughed.

Morgan turned to her. “Hey Ash,” he hailed. She waved back. He asked, “Where's Jordan?”

“In the tent,” she replied. “Making sure we got everything all packed up. We're done with the luggage that'll go into the hull, so if you want to put your bags in for the drive to the harbour, just leave them by the door so they're easy to grab when we get there.”

“Yeah, I think that's a good idea,” he said. “It's cramped as hell with the bags in the cab with us.” He walked back to the front, and Reid followed. Morgan handed him one of the bags and the younger man set it down on the ground and opened it. Morgan glanced back at him. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

“My mask and voice modulator,” the young doctor replied. “I put them in here.” He held them both up to show Morgan, then proceeded to closed up the bag again.

Right, the kid would have to wear those until they were settled into their cabin. That promised to be cringe-worthy. He couldn't wait to get off this fucking planet so he'd never have to hear Reid speak in that girly voice ever again. He paused. What _were_ they going to do when they got off of New Nevada? He supposed they'd travel on to Bennington, but then what? He had no idea. Would Reid stay there to be with his mother? And what would Morgan do? He really didn't know.

Oh, well. They'd figure something out.

He picked up Reid's bag while the younger man secured his mask and voice modulator around his neck so he could pull them up easily. The smuggler put the bags in the luggage car and asked, “All right, anything else I should put in there?”

“Wait for Jordan,” Ashley said. “She'll probably have –”

“Little help?” Jordan called out from the back of the train.

The three of them made their way to the back of the train just in time to see Jordan hop off of the platform. The door of their tent was rolled open and secured in place with a strap. And just inside was a huge pile of bags and suitcases. “What's all this?” Morgan wanted to know.

“Our luggage,” Jordan said. “Most of it is Penny's. She's even got an entire bag just for accessories.” She laughed. “I say we let the porters carry those aboard. But for now, we gotta put all of this crap into the luggage car so we'll need some elbow grease. I can't do it all alone.” She paused. “Well I could, but I don't really want to, especially if you're all standing around and chatting.”

Morgan laughed. “Fair enough,” he said and grabbed two of the bags. Reid stepped up next and picked just one and nearly dropped it. Morgan laughed and let him fight with it, making his way to the luggage car instead. He threw the bags in, then went back to the tent to pick up more. He crossed Reid on the way, the young doctor sort of crab-walking with the thing held against his chest. Morgan waved and went on his way. The guy wouldn't get any stronger if Morgan carried things for him. Ashley was struggling with another bag, though not as much as Reid was, but Jordan had one slung over her shoulder and seemed fine. She smiled at him when they crossed paths, and did a little wave. He reached the back of the train and grabbed two more bags.

Between the four of them, it didn't take too long, in spite of how much luggage there was, and Jordan finally untied the door of the tent, snapped it in place and pulled the lever that would close up everything. While the panels rotated upwards, they stood together, not at all in a hurry to sit in their cars yet again. The change of scenery would be more than welcome for all of them. They all had pretty much enough of sand and tents and cramped vehicles.

Once the second tent was secure, Morgan put his arm easily around the back of Reid's neck and waved to the girls. “Well,” he said, “time to go. See ya later. Clooney!” The dog came running around the back of the train. “Come on,” Morgan said and turned around, easily guiding Reid back to the pull vehicle, the dog trotting next to them. Once everyone was settled and the girls had called to say they were good on their side, Morgan started up the engine and pulled out of the camp, then drove them back onto the road that went into town. From there, they took the left leg of the Y-intersection just outside of Devon, so that they could stay into the larger road that followed the coastline. Morgan had put a rather cheerful playlist on, and he tapped the beat onto the wheel with his fingers. Reid looked bemusedly at him and Derek gave him a huge grin in reply. The younger man didn't comment, but he did shake his head lightly, looking amused. It took them less than an hour to reach the harbour, and when they parked by the ticket office, they saw Garcia standing by the door, in all of her colourful glory. She waved when she caught sight of the little train, and Reid waved back, though the hacker couldn't see them through the tinted window. Morgan parked close to her and she made her way over to them. Morgan turned to Reid. “Here we are,” he said unnecessarily. “You'll have to put your mask on, but first...” He leaned over and planted a kiss on Spencer's lips. “All right, Doc. Put your gear on and let's rock and roll.”

Reid's eyebrows did a funny little move that Morgan didn't know how to interpret, then he put his mask and voice modulator on. Garcia reached them and knocked on Morgan's window. He opened the door. “Hey there,” she said. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said, securing his own mask in place. “We'll need a porter for all of your stuff, though. You should grab whatever stuff you're going to need until the luggage gets delivered to our cabins. I'm going inside to tell them we'll need to use their service. Reid, can you get my pack?”

The young doctor nodded and opened his door. “Come on, Clooney,” he said, making both of them cringe at the voice. Man, they'd have to get used to that again. It was just all kinds of wrong. Reid got out of the cab and the dog followed. Garcia took a step out to leave room for Morgan to get out as well. He smiled at her, went to plant a kiss on her forehead, but remembered she was supposed to be his wife's servant, so he stopped and waved instead. He then made his way inside, where he enlisted the help of both a human porter and a porterbot by way of a generous tip. He returned to the luggage car, were the girls (and Reid) were waiting. Jordan stayed on top of the porter, telling him what would go into which cabin and what needed to be brought to the hull of the ship. The rest of them stood, stretching their limbs and looking around.

“I've found a buyer for the train while I was waiting for you,” Garcia said after a moment. “Found him online so I don't know if he's legit yet. He's supposed to be here any minute.” Morgan nodded and slid an arm around Reid's waist. He felt the younger man stiffen (definitely not one for PDA, then), but after a moment, he leaned into Derek just a tiny bit and Morgan grinned. It felt pretty natural so far. Maybe he was jealous of the attention Spencer was getting, but Clooney started snuffling at his other hand, pushing at it with his nose until Morgan started scratching his head.

“I can't get over how adorable you are,” Ashley said.

Morgan grinned at her, too content with the current state of affair to protest. A car slid into the parking lot. It was one of those new hybrid models that apparently could travel on roads, sand and water. It made its way over to them and hovered into the parking space next to where they were standing. A slender woman stepped out. “Is that the Touared train that's for sale?” she wanted to know.

Garcia stepped forward. “Yep,” she confirmed. “E. Greenaway?”

The woman nodded and offered her hand. “Elle,” she said. Morgan shook her hand as well, but then he let Garcia handle the transaction. She presented herself as Morgan's representative for this and they discussed prices together. A cashcard changed hands and then Penelope turned back towards their little group. The woman named Elle turned away and called someone on her minipad. She got back into her car. Morgan didn't know how she'd get the train from the parking lot, or why she needed it in the first place, but he didn't really care either.

“All right,” Penelope said, “we're done here.” As if on cue, the porter shut the luggage car and Jordan walked over to them. Garcia checked the time and said, “we can take the shuttle to the ship, now. Boarding will start soon.” They all agreed that it was a good idea, so they made their way to the other side of the building where the shuttle would depart from. The wait was enjoyable, Morgan and Reid on one bench, with the younger man leaning just slightly against him, Derek's arm slung over the back of their seat behind the young doctor. The girls had the other bench and were arguing over some holofilm actors and actresses that they found sexy, argument that continued on the shuttle, which they had to themselves. Once they arrived by the escalator that would lead them up onto the massive cruise ship, they spotted Emily. She was standing with her arms crossed, obviously waiting for someone. Garcia pointed to her and loudly said, “This is her, the beauty I told you guys about! The one waiting behind me to buy tickets!”

This established the connection between them for anyone who cared to spy on them. Something Morgan thought grimly was entirely too possible, judging by their recent encounters. Eventually, Hotch joined them and presentations were made, hands were shaken. Derek wasn't too sure what to do about this Hotch guy. He seemed kind of like a decent person, but he was a P-rep. That was bad news for a smuggler. He didn't know why Prentiss had brought him along. He'd have to keep an eye on him. Right after the presentations were done between all of them, an attendant announced that boarding would begin shortly. They fell in line. Morgan kept a tight arm around Reid so that he wouldn’t get jostled by the surging crowd. They boarded the ship and were shown to their cabins and they managed to all get settled in and comfortable by the time the ship finally left the docks.

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day aboard the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**NSFW.** And about time, too. This is a work of fiction so let's pretend STDs don't exist anymore and they don't need protection just cause._

* * *

**Chapter 22 **

“You want first shower, or can I call dibs?” Morgan asked, waiting until Reid had closed the door of their cabin before removing his mask. He looked around. There was a sort of living room area with two open doors leading from it. One seemed to go into a bathroom while the other was probably the bedroom. Awesome. After spending weeks and weeks in a tent, this was nearly a palace. There was no where to put the air mattress, though, but Clooney didn't seem to care. He hopped onto the sofa and made himself comfortable. Morgan grinned. He turned and hooked a finger in the top of Reid's mask, pulling it down so he could place a quick kiss onto his lips.

Spencer kissed him back easily. “You can go first,” he said when Morgan pulled away. He let his bags drop next to the door, then pulled his mask off completely. “But don't take too long. I'm dying for one too.”

Morgan mock-saluted him. “Yes ma'am,” he teased.

Reid punched him lightly on the arm for that. “Go,” he laughed. “I'll unpack my stuff.” He set his mask down onto the small, round table that stood a couple of paces from the door. Morgan unslung his own bag from his shoulder and opened it to retrieve his body wash, in case he didn't like the one provided by the ship. Then he stepped up to Reid, kissed him one last time on the lips – and man, it should be illegal for a man to have lips this perfect – then he made his way to the bathroom. It wasn't as cramped as the one in his personal quarters on the Aurora, but it wasn't spacious either, not by any stretch of the imagination. He got out of his clothes and started the shower, stepping under it when the water was warm enough. Ah, after spending so long on the road and having to wash himself standing in a tent next to a large bucket, this was just pure heaven. He found Reid's injunction not to take too long a little hard to follow, but the thought that he could be able to just enjoy this for all of the next week helped him finally step out of the shower.

He dried himself off quickly, then wrapped a towel around his hips before stepping out of the shower. “Oh my.” That was Garcia's voice, wasn't it? He turned his head to find her sitting on the sofa with Reid. Clooney looked up from where he was lying down on the floor by the table. “Okay, I think you need your honeymoon time now,” Penelope said, pushing herself upright. “I'm done updating Reid on what I've found today listening to the chatter, anyway. I'll let him give you the low-down. Not that there was much. Now, I've got to prod at lovely Emily and try to get her to tell me how and when she met that delicious hunk 'o P-rep and how they ended up sleeping together when their chosen occupation are on opposite sides of the legal spectrum. Nosey hacker out!” She eyed Reid. “Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”

“I don't know what you wouldn't do,” he said.

“Exactly. Clooney, come on!” She wiggled her fingers at Morgan in farewell and left, opening the door just wide enough for the dog and herself to slip through before closing it quietly behind them.

Reid had a confused little frown on his features, and seriously, that cluelessness was just all kinds of adorable. “Shower's clear if you still want one,” Derek said, picking up his bag again and placing it on one of the dining chairs so he could rummage through it and find something clean to wear.

“Okay,” Reid said, getting up from the couch. He paused when he saw Morgan.

“See something you like?” the smuggler asked, grinning knowingly, and the younger man coloured slightly, shrugged and retrieved a small pile of clothes and toiletries he'd left near the bathroom door. He went into the bathroom for his own shower, and Morgan got dressed before putting the wash from his pack into the machine provided in their suite just for that. A few minutes and it beeped. He retrieved his clothes and went to put them away in the bedroom, before settling onto the couch with his reading pad. A short while later, Reid emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed. He had a towel around his neck, and he stood a small distance from the bathroom then leaned over so he could rub it over his hair. Then he flung the towel back into the bathroom and made his way over to the couch. His hair was kind of all crazy around his head and Morgan couldn't helped grinning at him. Spencer gave him a little smile in return and sat on the couch next to him. Morgan was about to set his pad down, but Reid picked up his own and turned sideways so he could lean back against Derek's shoulder, his back along Derek's arm. He started reading, so Morgan put his earbuds in and watched a newscast. An hour passed by like this in silence.

Morgan grew bored with the news though, and he was kind of curious about what Reid was reading. He craned his neck, leaning back further into the plush cushion of the sofa, trying to peek at Spencer's screen. He'd almost managed to, only getting a glance of text whizzing by way too fast to read, when Reid's back slid from where he'd been propped against his shoulder. Suddenly he was half lying over Morgan's lap, looking up at him with such a comical expression on his face that Derek couldn't help poking his nose teasingly, chuckling. “Why, hello there, hot stuff.” He grinned.

Reid had a half-smile. “Hello,” he said, then added, “hot stuff..?” He made a face. “It doesn't sound right when I say it.”

Morgan laughed, “Nice try, though.” He patted Spencer's stomach with his left hand, setting his tablet down on the side table next to him. His hand felt right where it rested on Reid's torso, so he left it there. Reid put his own reading pad down on the floor.

He glanced up at Morgan questioningly. “Any reason you interrupted my reading, or were you just bored?”

“Bored and curious,” Morgan said with an unapologetic grin. “I was just trying to read over your shoulder though. I didn't mean to interrupt anything.” He ran his hand soothingly up and down on Reid's stomach. Spencer sucked in a breath which made Derek pause. Their eyes met. The blush that spread over the young doctor's cheeks proved to be his undoing. Holding Reid' gaze, Morgan repeated the movement, but slower, lighter. He went a little higher and a little lower with each repetition, and when his knuckles brushed against the tip of Spencer's cock (it felt weird, thinking _Spencer_ and _cock_ in the same sentence, but Derek would not resort to using _penis_ ), Reid licked his lower lip and bit down on it. Morgan's hand went back up and he slid his fingers under the sash, tugging at it lightly to loosen it up. Spencer let out a soft, soft exhale.

Reid's hands flitted helplessly a few times, like he didn't know what to do with them, making Morgan chuckle lightly. Spencer pursed his lips and tried looking affronted, but then his sash came undone and he gasped quietly, going still. Derek leaned down for a kiss. It should have been awkward, but Reid pushed himself up just enough so that he could meet him halfway. Morgan tugged the sash free, then slid his hand up over his chest. It came up to rest at the base of the young doctor's throat for a moment. He tugged on the zipper tab there, but the fabric bunched up and it refused to come down.

“Hold on,” Reid whispered against his lips, pushing himself up higher. He twisted his upper body towards Morgan, leaning onto one hand that he slipped in between Morgan's knees. His free hand pulled down on the fabric of his top, holding it in place for Derek to pull the zipper down. The fabric parted and Morgan slid his hands inside, running them down gently over his ribs. Reid moaned softly and Morgan caught his lips into yet another kiss. Spencer sat up straighter and wrapped his arms around the back of Derek's neck. He was half twisted and couldn't be all that comfortable.

Morgan broke the kiss. “Bed?” he asked, somewhat breathlessly.

“I thought you'd never ask,” Reid replied, pushing himself off of the couch. Morgan got up as well and pulled him into a tight embrace. He kissed him again, wasting no time in deepening it. He walked Reid back towards the bedroom, trying not to trip over his feet. Reid stumbled backwards and made a soft, dismayed sound of surprise, but Morgan's arm wrapped around the back of his waist, and he pulled him flush against his front again. The younger man moaned into the kiss and Morgan growled in response.

“Oh gods!” Reid whispered, pulling away just far enough so that he could look at Morgan. “Do that again!”

“Do what?” Morgan asked, pushing the tunic off of Reid's shoulders.

“That sound,” Reid said, pulling at Morgan's belt buckle. He took a step back and tripped over his tunic that Derek had let fall unto the floor.

Morgan caught him easily and chuckled. “Distracted?” he asked teasingly.

“Shut up,” Reid said.

Morgan laughed and picked him up easily, drawing a graceless squawk from the younger man. “Faster this way,” he explained, and he carried him over to the bed.

“You just like showing off,” Reid countered, wrapping his legs around Morgan's hips, just in case.

Morgan grinned and dumped him unceremoniously onto the mattress. “Mm,” he said, crawling after Spencer as the young doctor pushed himself towards the head of the bed, “you like it, admit it.”

“No way,” Reid protested.

“No use denying it,” Morgan countered, “I could feel you get hard.”

“Oh gods,” Reid said, and he hid his face in his hands.

“Hey,” Morgan said, sitting sideways so he could toe out of his boots, “there's nothing embarrassing about that. Proves I'm doing my job right, you know.”

Reid peeked out from between his fingers. “Are _you_ hard?” he wanted to know. Morgan pulled at one of his hands and put it over his cock. “Oh.”

“See?” Derek said, “you're doing your job right, too.”

“Um,” Reid bit his lower lip, blushed a little, then let go and said, “okay.”

Morgan laughed and let go of his hand. “C'mere,” he said, burying his hand in his hair and pulling him gently closer. He kissed him slowly. Spencer's arm hooked around the back of his neck and he pulled him as he lay down, Derek having to let go of him so he could crawl on top of him. He lowered himself slowly, leaning on one elbow rather than his hands, still kissing the younger man, one kiss followed by another, then another and another. His free hand cupped his boyfriend's jawline, and it was still so odd to think of him of him as his boyfriend and yet not. He shifted his weight to the side and let his fingers trail down Spencer's neck, over his shoulder, forward over his chest, then back, mapping down the side of Reid's body with his hand pressing down firmly now, and the young doctor made a sound that made Morgan kiss him harder, deeper. Spencer lifted one knee, his thigh pressing up against his cock and Morgan pulled away to growl softly. “Boy,” he said breathlessly, “what are you doin' to me?”

“Hopefully turning you on,” Reid said, sounding breathless.

“You can say that, all right,” Morgan said, and he leaned down for another kiss, this one harsher, hungrier. Spencer met him halfway, just as desperate as he was to communicate his need, his want. Then, the younger man was pushing against his chest lightly and Morgan pulled away a bit. Reid's fingers raked down his front and found his belt, which he undid skillfully (you could say he'd had a bit more practice since the first time he'd had to do that) and then he pulled it off and chucked it off the bed, his other hand pulling at the fabric of his tunic with mounting frustration. Morgan chuckled and knelt up, pulling his tunic up and off. Spencer sat up and started peppering kisses over his chest, his long fingers drawing little nothings all over his skin. Derek carelessly threw his top away and cupped the younger man's jawline again, pulling him up for a proper kiss. Reid's hands trailed down to his waist and undid the fastenings on his trousers, pulling them down over Morgan's hips.

“Lube?” Derek asked suddenly.

“Put it here,” Reid said and gave him one last kiss before he twisted away to crawl closer to the nightstand. He pulled the drawer open and gasped as Morgan placed a kiss on his back, right between his shoulder blades.

Feeling Spencer freeze for a moment, Morgan grinned. “Like that?” he asked teasingly, and he didn't wait for an answer before kissing the pale skin once more, a little lower this time. Reid let out a soft little moan and tensed up, letting his head fall on his one arm not stretched out towards the nightstand. And, good grief, was he pushing his ass higher? What was he, some kind of goddamn cat? Gods, that was kind of hot, though. Morgan placed another kiss, lower still, and reminded him, “Spencer, the lube.”

“Ri-right,” Reid said breathlessly and reached into the drawer, retrieving one of the bottles that Garcia, meddlesome, wonderful Garcia, had bought them. He handed it to Morgan, who placed another kiss onto the small of his back. He pushed Spencer's pants and underwear impatiently down his thighs and pulled away just long enough to pour some of the lube onto his fingers.

“A'right,” he warned Spencer, “I'm going to have to stretch you a bit. This might get a little uncomfortable.”

“I know,” Reid said. “I've read extensively on the topic of – oh gods!”

Morgan had just pushed one finger in. Spencer might have read on it, but it didn't compare to actual, hands-on experience. Still, Morgan could talk about it for hours, trying to convince the guy of his point, or he could just show him. “You okay?” he asked, because he had to make sure.

“I don't know,” Reid panted softly, “it feels a little weird.”

“I'm going to move my finger, all right?” Derek asked him, and started moving gently at Reid's acquiescent nod. It was slow, and a little awkward, yet also right and amazing at the same time. After the one finger easily slid in and out, it was more lubricant and two fingers. He took it slow, listening to every gasp, every breathy moan, every whimper. Three fingers and Reid tensed again so Morgan pulled away.

The young doctor looked back towards him. “Morgan?” he asked uncertainly.

The smuggler patted him on the hip twice. “On your back,” he said, though his tone made it clear it it wasn't a command. Reid didn't even pause, and rolled to his back, then pushed himself up to his elbows to look at him. Morgan grinned and kissed him, then moved back so he could pull Reid's pants completely off, then kneel between his legs. He poured more lubricant on his hand and moved back further so he could distract Spencer with his mouth while he finished stretching him. It seemed to do the trick, because Reid's breath stopped catching and he started panting harshly. Morgan actually had to push Spencer's hips down, holding them down with his other hand.

Once his fingers moved easily in and out, Spencer gasped out, “Gods, Morgan! Do it, please just, just...” He panted quietly, trying to catch his breath. He tried a different approach. “I want you, gods, want you so much right now.”

“Only right now?” Morgan couldn't help tease him and Reid huffed in response. “A'right,” Morgan knelt between his legs again and he slicked himself, “try to relax as best you can, okay?”

“That's easy for you to say,” Reid huffed.

“Why, you want to switch places?” Derek asked him and the young doctor made a face at him.

“After all of this?” he wanted to know. “No way. Next time if you want, but right now I just want you to –” Morgan started pushing him while he was more focused on his rant than on him, making the younger man fall silent. Then he let out a soft moan and Derek paused. “No, don't, whatever you do, don't stop!” Reid's voice was a little desperate, so Derek started pushing in again.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah, I,” Spencer nodded, paused, nodded again, “good, I'm – I'm more than good. Oh gods.” Morgan grinned and leaned forward putting his weight on his left hand so he could catch the younger man's lips into a kiss. When he was firmly seated inside, he pulled up from the kiss just so he could look at Reid's face, at the way he looked when lying under him, hair fanned all around his his head, warm eyes slightly unfocussed, pupils blown wide and lips moist and dark. He pulled slightly out and pushed back in, loving the way that Spencer's neck arched back, loving the sound coming from the back of his throat. “Oh gods,” Reid said again.

Morgan chuckled and started a slow, languid pace, letting Spencer adjust, quite content for now to watch him unravel under him. Reid wrapped his arms around the back of his neck, pulling him down for an open-mouthed, uncoordinated kiss, and Morgan picked up the pace, making the younger man whimper. He left his lips, trailing kisses down his throat before he sat up. His hands raked down Spencer's sides, making the young doctor arch back with another moan, before grasping his hips so he could pull him as he pushed in and Reid let out a moan and pushed against him, taking him as deep in as Morgan could go and fuck, that was hot. A pause, and he pulled out to the tip, before pushing back in and Spencer moaned again.

If he kept doing that, Morgan was going to lose it. He pulled out, pushed back in, and Spencer pushed against him and let out a whimper. Pull, push, moan, pull, push, moan, and Morgan was unravelling, too. He gripped Spencer's hips tighter and started a constant, steady pace that he managed to keep for a moment as Reid was quiet at first. But when he rocked into him harder and the younger man cried out, he just started a fast, hard rhythm that tore a constant stream of whines and moans and cries from Spencer, and really, it should by illegal to be this vocal during sex too only, no, not really – it should be mandatory, that's what it should be.

He wrapped his hand around Reid, who protested, “No wait!” He panted, trying to catch his breath and Morgan paused, looking down at him, waiting for him to tell him why he'd just had to stop. “Wait a bit,” Reid managed after a moment, “I'm going to come if you keep this – I said wait!”

Morgan growled, “No way, boy.” A kiss, and he started moving his hand again. “I want to feel you come. I want to feel how you'll tighten around me as I push you over the edge.” Reid moaned again, so Morgan started moving his hips once more, his hand jerking him off as he thrust into him. “I want to make you come so goddamn hard that you're going to see stars,” he continued, dragging another drawn-out moan from the younger man. He kept talking, kept moving, and Reid was soon too far gone to say anything. He moaned and cried out, his long fingers pulling at the covers or running over them. When he came, Morgan cursed harshly at just how tightly he tensed around him. He kept moving through it, trying to delay his own orgasm until Spencer was done. He could have lasted longer, but it just felt so goddamn good that he didn't want to. As soon as he felt the younger man relax again, he grabbed his hips tighter and started ramming into him, making him cry out again. He thrust into him fast and hard, reaching for his own pleasure, now that he'd given Reid his, and it didn't take long for him to near his climax and then, then Spencer tightened his muscles around him, and Morgan lost it, pumping his come deep inside, making Reid moan again.

Morgan managed to twist to the side when he let himself plop down, so he didn't end up squishing Reid. He chuckled. “Okay, that was hot,” he commented.

“I'm so, so thirsty,” Spencer said in a breathless laughter.

“Well, you'll have to get up,” Morgan informed him, “cause I ain't movin'.”

Reid snorted. “I will in a minute,” he said, and he snuggled closer instead. “I can't be bothered, right now.” Morgan chuckled and leaned in for a kiss.

Yep, he could definitely get used to this boy.

* * *


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of Aliens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Morgan doesn't have grey hair._

* * *

** Chapter 23 **

Dinner was brought to them via Garcia's orders, along with a promise that their cabin boy would come along shortly to give them the handhelds that controlled the room functions in their suite. Once the table was set and the staff gone, Spencer came out of the bedroom and they started eating. The food was rich and tasted better than anything Morgan had ever had before. He was ready to bet Ashley would be able to make it even better, though. She had been pretty limited on the trek through the desert, as what food they had brought with them was the kind of bland, non-perishable stuff that tasted like cardboard to start with. They ate with good appetite, and as they were slowing down, feeling not quite full but not so hungry anymore, Reid set his utensils down. “So,” he said hesitantly, “I've been wondering about something since we left Kaltek.”

“Yeah?” the smuggler glanced at him. “What about?”

“That's not your home planet, is it?” the young doctor wanted to know.

Morgan was not really surprised at the question. He was sort of used to it. “Nope,” he answered, twirling his fork between his thumb and two of his fingers. “What gave me away, the accent?”

“Yeah,” Reid answered with a crooked half-smile. “I'm guessing I'm not the first to ask, huh?”

“Nope,” Morgan said again, grinning widely.

“So where're you from?” the young doctor wanted to know.

“Chicago,” Derek said with a shrug.

“Chicago?” Reid looked dubious. “I've never heard of a planet named Chicago. I only know the Earth city.”

Morgan couldn't help letting out a little chuckle at that. “That's 'cause it's not the name of the planet,” he finally said once he was done laughing.

“Oh!” Spencer's face suddenly lit up in understanding, “you mean that's the name of the town!”

“Yep,” Morgan said as he got up, still chuckling softly. “Want some coffee?” he wanted to know.

“Yeah, thanks.” Reid handed him his mug and Morgan turned to the sideboard where the coffee machine had been set up. The young doctor was silent a moment, then commented, “Must be a small settlement then, since I don't know of another large city named that.”

“What,” it was Morgan's turn to be incredulous, “you know the name of every single city in the colonized universe?”

“I do,” Reid assured him.

Derek paused. “Of course, you do.” He turned around, leaning back against the sideboard with his arms loosely crossed, waiting for the coffee to get brewed.

“How long ago did you leave?” Reid wanted to know.

“My hometown or my home planet?”

“Um, both, I guess,” Spencer said.

“I left Chicago when I was eighteen,” Morgan said, shrugging lightly. “Then my planet eleven years ago now, I guess.” He paused and tilted his head, mentally calculating the numbers until he counted himself satisfied and nodded to himself. “Yeah, eleven years.”

“Why did you leave?” the younger man asked.

Morgan arched an eyebrow. “What is this, playing twenty questions?” he teased.

“Well, um,” Spencer shifted uncomfortably, “I'm just curious. I don't really know anything about you other than your name, profession and that you're way too good in bed.” Morgan's other eyebrow joined the first, high on his forehead and his lips widened into a large grin. “Well, you are,” the younger man said quickly, cheeks colouring. “It's just, well you,” he floundered a bit then turned his head away, grumbling, “Shut up.”

Derek chuckled. “I haven't said anything,” he pointed out helpfully, but Spencer only shrugged in response. Morgan laughed again. He turned around and picked up the sugar and cream for Reid, then walked over to the table where he set them down just as the percolator beeped. He returned to the sideboard and brought the pot and two mugs back.

When Morgan was seated across from him, Reid commented, “You haven't answered my question.”

“What question?” the smuggler asked lightly, pouring coffee into a mug and sliding it over to the younger man's side of the table.

Reid said, “Thank you,” then set his fork down to add a bit of cream and sugar to the hot beverage. Morgan helped himself to a cup. The young doctor finally looked up and said, “You're playing dumb on purpose.” He looked a little annoyed. “You know, if you don't want to talk about something, you can just say you don't want to answer the question. No need to evade it. I might not have the greatest social skills, but I'm not dumb.”

“I know you're not,” Derek said, then sighed deeply and took a took a sip of coffee to stall the conversation long enough so that he could gather his thoughts. “Listen, there are certain things in my past that I don't understand, and some things I'd rather keep to myself.” Reid nodded and Morgan continued, “It's not a matter of not trusting you or wanting to hide things from you. You know that right?”

Spencer nodded. “I know,” he said softly. “That's why I said, just tell me if there's a question you just don't want to answer.”

Morgan thought about it for a while and finally nodded. “All right then, lover boy,” he said and grinned when he saw Spencer's smile, “ask your questions.”

Reid thought about it for a while and started with, “How old are you?”

Morgan snorted. “You really want to know whether I'm an old man or not?” He set his cup down and resumed eating, glancing up at Reid here and there.

The young doctor had a little smile. “I want to know whether I have to start looking for grey in that beard of yours.”

“Okay,” Derek growled, pointing forward with his fork “first of all, it's a goatee, not a beard. Second, I certainly do _not_ have grey hair.”

“Right now, you have no hair at all,” Reid said lightly and gave him a small, teasing smile, setting his own mug down so he could take a few bites.

“Because I shave it,” Morgan protested. “I'm not actually bald!”

“Oh, I know,” Reid said and chuckled softly.

Morgan huffed out a laugh. “Is it fun, teasing your elders?”

“Very,” Spencer said and paused to take a sip of coffee, then added, “So you admit to being old?”

“Older,” Derek said, with some emphasis. “I'm thirty-three. It's not that old.”

“It really isn't,” the young doctor agreed. “You have family, right? Tell me about them.”

Morgan tilted his head and thought about what he was ready to share. “It's just Mama and the girls,” he finally said. “They all live on Kaltek – we all moved there together. We're all working like mad to try and put Désirée through school. She's always wanted to be a nurse.” There was a cheerful little chime, the call of, “Room service,” and Morgan got up. He went to the door panel and selected the visual feed option on the menu. Some kid with spiky hair wearing a uniform. Derek motioned with his head for Spencer to hide, and the younger man went back into the bedroom and closed the door. Only then did Morgan let the door open. “Heya kid,” he greeted. “You the cabin boy?”

“Yeah,” the boy said and pointed to a golden name tag on his chest. “My name's Jeremy Sayer. If you need anything, you can use your handheld to call me and I will come as soon as I can. Do you need me to show you how to do that?”

Morgan shook his head. “Nah, I'm good,” he assured him.

“All right,” the teenager said and handed him two handhelds. “This suite is registered as having two guests so I can give you two of these. You will be asked to return them before you can leave the ship.”

“Got it,” Morgan said, setting the little devices on the sideboard by the coffee maker. “Thanks.”

“I came to give you the devices,” Jeremy said, looking way too bored for the amount of money Morgan had paid for the suite, “but from now own and for the duration of the trip, I will only come when called.” He looked around curiously, then continued, “I'm in charge of keeping your cabin clean and providing you with anything you might be needing on your trip.” Another pause where he looked around again. “Do you need my services at this time, sir?”

“Yeah,” Morgan said, “we've just finished dinner so you can clean out the table. Just leave the coffee stuff.” Jeremy nodded and pushed a little trolley in and started clearing out the plates and utensils. He paused when he noticed that there were two mugs of coffee, both still hot enough to give off steam. He looked around again, and his eyes landed on the closed bedroom door. Morgan followed his line of sight. “My wife went to lie down for a moment. She'll want more coffee when she wakes up. Just leave the mug.”

“Ah, yeah,” Jeremy said. “I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to – well I'll just clean this up.” Derek nodded and watched him put the dirty dishes and dinner leftovers onto the cart, and then he wheeled it out, saying, “Have a good evening, sir,” before the door slid shut behind him.

There was a lull and Morgan wondered whether or not to go knock on the bedroom door, when it slid open and Reid stepped out. Morgan grinned at him. “Hey,” he said.

Reid gave him a weird little look that the smuggler wasn't sure what to interpret and went back to sit a the table. “Hey,” he finally answered.

Derek sat across from him again. “What?” he asked him curiously.

“What do you mean, what?” Spencer asked between two sips of coffee.

“The look,” Morgan said patiently.

“Oh,” the younger man shrugged lightly. “I don't know, I just wasn't sure how to answer a greeting when I've basically only stepped out of the room for a minute.”

Morgan laughed. “Sometimes I wonder if maybe you're not an alien in disguise.”

“That's ridiculous,” Spencer said with a little chuckle, “the existence of beings from extra-terrestrial origins have yet to be proven by science. We haven't so much as found microbial lifeforms on any planet observed in the past few centuries of space exploration.”

“You know, an alien _would_ say that just to deter me,” Morgan teased, grinning widely, “but I _will_ find the truth.”

“Morgan,” the young doctor protested, “you've seen me stark naked and touched me all over, you should know pretty well that I'm entirely, one-hundred percent human.” He paused to take a sip of coffee, but when he caught sight of Derek's amused grin and raised eyebrows, he choked. “I, I didn't mean – I only meant to say – I mean it's not like,” he spluttered when he'd managed to swallow. He flailed for a bit longer, and finally grumbled, “Oh, just, I... Shut up.”

Morgan liked the way he blushed up to the tip of his ears when he was embarrassed, so he couldn't help pointing out, “Again, I didn't say anything.” Spencer gave him a pinched little look that he was trying not to let morph into an amused little smile. After a moment, he lost his fight and scoffed lightly. “So what would you do if you encountered an alien?” Derek wanted to know.

“I just said that the existence of ex–”

“Yeah, yeah,” Morgan said, waving it off. “C'mon, Reid. You're the geekiest guy I've ever met, so whether they exist or not, you must have at least _considered_ the possibility of meeting one, right?”

“Well,” Spencer said slowly, letting the word stretch, “I suppose I have, from time to time.”

“So,” Derek asked again, “what would you say if you ever meet one?”

“Why,” the young doctor laughed, “are _you_ an alien?”

“Me?” it was Morgan's turn to laugh, “What, you think if I was an alien I'd wear the skin of a hot, awesome smuggler who's good in bed? Oh wait, maybe I would.”

Reid made a face. “Did you really need to bring that up again?” he wanted to know.

“Of course, I did,” Derek said with a large grin.

“And you evaded the question,” Spencer said smartly.

Morgan laughed again. “No, I am most certainly not an alien. See this sexy body?” He leaned back in his chair, opening his arms to show exactly what he was talking about. “This here is one-hundred percent human material, baby.”

“Oxygen,” Reid started counting on his fingers, “carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen.”

“What?” Morgan frowned in confusion. Whatever he had been expecting Spencer to say, this certainly wasn't it. Maybe the guy really wasn't human.

“They're elements,” the young doctor said.

“Yeah, I know,” Derek said. “I just don't get why you're listing them.”

“Roughly ninety-six percent of the human body, not counting any of the symbiotic microbial entities that live in and on us, are comprised of these four elements.” He paused, and Morgan arched both his eyebrows to indicate he still didn't understand why Spencer had listed them. “They're also four of the five elements most common throughout the universe,” the younger man explained. “If there were any life of extra-terrestrial origin anywhere, they would most likely be made of the same material as we are. Thus, you could be made of human material and yet not be human at all.”

Morgan rubbed at his forehead. “Wow. You're so goddamn literal sometimes, you know that?”

Reid winced. “I'm sorry.”

Derek huffed out a chuckle. “Okay, well, I'm not an alien. I'm human. I'm still not sure about _you_ , though.” He leaned across the small table to tug lightly on a strand of Spencer's hair. Certainly not hard enough to hurt, just to show he was teasing, to try and lighten the mood again. He hadn't meant for the young doctor to feel guilty or self-conscious. The hair felt soft so he brushed it aside gently, liking the feel of it against his fingers.

“I'm human too,” Spencer said with a little smile.

“Well then, _human_ ,” Morgan said with a large grin, leaning back once more, “what would you say if you ever encountered someone from uh, _extra-terrestrial origin_?”

Reid arched an eyebrow. “ _Hello_ sounds like a good start,” he said smartly. “But I doubt that whatever I choose to say is of any importance.”

“Why's that?” the smuggler wanted to know.

“Well, I doubt they'd speak our language, for one.” Reid took a sip of coffee, a pensive look on his beautiful face. “Actually,” he added after a moment, “I'm not even sure they would communicate through speech.”

Morgan tried not to look as hopelessly confused as he felt. “What do you mean?”

“Well, they could communicate through colour,” the young doctor explained, “or smells, or vibration at a frequency that is imperceptible to us.”

“Huh,” Morgan said after a moment, “hadn't thought of that.” He pondered over that for some time. “So you're basically sayin' it wouldn't matter whether we act friendly or not since there's no way they'd understand us?” he finally asked.

“I'm saying that the likelihood of another species evolving exactly as we have from an entire different set of biological conditions and imperatives is possible, but I would qualify the possibility of them evolving with the same way of communication that we have as exceedingly unlikely.”

“So what do you think would happen if we ever ran into an alien?” Morgan wanted to know.

“If humankind ever ran into an alien lifeform, chances are we'd either destroy it – willingly or unwittingly – or it would destroy us. It's also probable that we'd never be aware of it.”

Derek finished his coffee and slung his arm on the back of his chair. “What do you mean, we wouldn't be aware of it? If I see a little green man with five eyes, I'm gonna know for damn sure that ain't human.”

Reid huffed out a small laugh. “You're assuming it would be visible to us. What if it were the size of a microbe? It could wipe out all of humanity and we'd never know what happened to us.”

Morgan shuddered. “There's a cheery thought,” he commented, but then there was a soft beep on both handhelds and he got up. He took the few steps that separated him from the sideboard and picked one of the devices up, grinning when he saw Garcia's face on the screen. Below her picture, a short message. “Hey, the girls are coming over. Is that all right with you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Reid agreed easily. “We might need more coffee, though.”

“Don't worry,” the smuggler said with a grin, typing his reply onto the device quickly, “whoever finishes the pot can make another.” He clipped the handheld onto his belt and picked up the other one to bring to Reid. “Here,” he told him, “you should keep this on you.” He didn't know if Reid would know how to use it, but they had guests coming over, so he just gave the younger man's hair a light tug again and went back to his seat, before he was tempted to touch him more. Sipping their coffees, they waited for the girls.

* * *


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding the Aurora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I'm struggling a little with the pacing. We're nearing the end of the story, and it's hard to know how to write it properly._

* * *

** Chapter 24 **

The two handhelds chimed simultaneously, and there was a cheerful knock at the door at the same time. Morgan set the mugs down. “Lemme get that.” Reid nodded, already reaching for his mug. Morgan checked the device at his belt and saw Garcia grinning up at the camera, the whole gang behind her. He flicked the option that would open the door and got up from the table. “Hey, Baby Girl!” he greeted cheerfully. “Come in, come in!”

“You decent?” she wanted to know, peeking in cautiously. “We're not interrupting anything?”

“Just finished dinner,” he said. Clooney pushed in and went to lick at his hand so he leaned down to rub at his head and neck.

“Damn,” Penelope laughed. “We missed the show.”

Derek snorted and shook his head. Clooney bounded away to snuffle at Spencer's hands, making the young man smile happily. “We were just starting on the coffee,” the smuggler added, rather unnecessarily since the smell was still strong in the room.

“Reid never stops drinking coffee,” she countered with a laugh and held up a few bottles. “You can't start something that never ends. We brought booze!”

“And cake!” Ashley called out from behind.

“And Turkish delights,” added Emily with a laugh. “Heard your wife loves those.”

“Yeah,” Morgan replied with a grimace, “Reid likes 'em.” He let them in and they filed in into the cabin, Garcia first, followed by Ashley, Jordan, Emily and even, “Hotch! Hey man, good to see you again.” Morgan was a little on guard, but the man only nodded in greeting and walked in. Morgan threw Garcia a questioning look.

“Oh, relax, Your Royal Buffness,” Garcia said as she plopped down on the couch. “Hotch's okay. He won't tell.”

“I won't tell what?” Hotch said, looking from Morgan to Garcia, just as Jordan asked, “Any more coffee?”

“Over there,” Morgan pointed. Then he sized Hotch up and down. “Well, Reid and I, we're kind of in trouble,” he told him carefully.

“Your wife, Reid?” Hotch asked. His eyes finally resting on Spencer. “I did think you were tall for a woman,” he told him. Reid shifted uncomfortably, licked his lips and shrugged lightly. “But truth was that I did have an inkling as to the subterfuge, when you introduced him this morning.” Hotch looked at Morgan, gaze frank and face serious. “We caught some encrypted communication over the past week as we approached New Nevada,” he told the smuggler. “Derek Morgan, pilot and occasional smuggler – don't worry, let me finish – and Doctor Spencer Reid, scholar and student at Kaltek University, currently working on his fifth degree as well as lecturing on a variety of subjects. There's a hit on both of you.”

“We know,” Morgan said, then paused. “Are you going to arrest me?” he wanted to know. He watched as Ashley put a piece of cake on a plate and handed it to Reid, then served another one to Jordan.

“I don't see you breaking the law,” Hotch replied.

Morgan thought about that for a moment, then he nodded. “Okay,” he said, making his way over to the table to pick up his mug again. “There's a fresh pot of coffee if you want some,” he told Hotch. “Goes for everybody. Whoever finishes it brews a fresh pot or Reid's going to be grumpy.” Ashley smiled and prepared two more slices of cake and took them to the couch, where she sat next to Penelope.

“I don't get grumpy,” Spencer protested. Clooney made a little concurring sound, and it was almost like he was defending the young man.

“Sure you don't,” Morgan teased and ruffled his hair before leaning down to scratch at the dog's head again, grinning widely.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Prentiss suddenly said, “What's this family vibe I'm getting here? I thought the whole marriage thing was bogus?”

Jordan looked up from the mug of coffee she was pouring herself and she threw Morgan a sharp look, but she didn't comment. Ashley's eyes widened. “Well, ah,” Garcia began.

Morgan straightened up, glancing at Reid who had this weird expression on his face that the smuggler just couldn't read. “Oh, uh,” he finally said, rubbing his hand over his head. “Well, ah,” another slight hesitation where he caught Reid's eyes and briefly arched his eyebrows in question. The younger man gave a slight shrug.

“No way,” Prentiss said, marking a definitive pause between the words. She looked from one to the other a few times. “You're kidding me, right?” Disbelief was thick in her tone. “I've never seen you even _glance_ in another man's general direction.”

“That's cause I never did,” Morgan said with a shrug.

“What, really?” Reid wanted to know. “Not even curious?”

“Nope,” Morgan said. Then, to change the topic, he asked Hotch, “What else you heard in the space chatter?”

“Not much,” the P-rep replied, moving in to help himself to some coffee as well. Jordan moved to leave him room and he poured some of the liquid into a mug. “Something about the Aurora – which my research told me was your ship, Morgan – having been found at the bottom of the Andolene sea. They're moving it to about a hundred and fifty kilometres south of Varna. Something about it being indispensable for their boss, whom they referred to as the Fisher King. Name mean anything to you?”

Reid said, “He's a mythical character in ancient Earthen literature.”

“I meant as a live, living person,” Hotch specified.

Morgan and Reid both shook their heads. “I'm on it,” Garcia said quickly and she took her tablet out, unrolling the screen before she started tapping quickly on it.

“Can you check on Reid's mom while you're at it?” Morgan wanted to know.

“You call your boyfriend by his family name?” Ashley suddenly asked.

The two men looked at each other. “Force of habit,” Derek said after a moment.

Reid nodded. “That's what we're used to. Morgan's his family name, too.”

“Isn't that weird?” the blonde wanted to know.

“Not to us,” Morgan said with a shrug. “Anyway, Hotch, what else?”

“Well,” the stern man hesitated, glancing from one to the other, “you're probably not going to like it.”

“Trust me, man,” Morgan said, “We've been attacked by an armada of ships, threatened by a psycho with a gun, crashed our escape pod into a sand dune, walked for two days through the desert, then drove on through the same desert for weeks. There ain't much that's gonna top all that.”

Hotch looked from one to the other again. “Okay, well, Morgan's wanted alive. The communication we managed to intercept said that it was imperative that he be alive and unharmed, as much as possible. Doctor Reid, on the other hand, is wanted dead or alive. He was classified as expendable.”

Derek groaned and rubbed at his head again. “Great, just great. They probably want me to get the Aurora's codes and then they'll kill me, too.” He looked down at his boyfriend, but Reid was scratching Clooney's neck and not looking at him. Then he looked at Garcia, and from there, to each and every person in the room. “We can't let them have Reid. I'll give the codes if I have to, but I'm not gonna let them kill him.”

“I can defend myself,” Spencer said softly.

Morgan sighed softly. “I know,” he said. “I can defend myself, too. Doesn't mean they won't be able to get the drop on me if I'm not careful.” He glanced at Hotch, then retrieved his secondary gun from his boot and placed it in Reid's hands. “I want you to keep this on you at all times, okay?”

“Even in here?” the young doctor wanted to know.

“At all times,” Morgan repeated.

“Even when –” Reid started again.

“Spencer,” Morgan said seriously. The use of his first name made the younger man pause, and he finally licked his lips, hesitated, then nodded. “Good,” Derek said and patted his shoulder twice. He paused when he saw Hotch approach. He had hoped the man would let this one slide, under the circumstances, but it seemed he had been wrong. Reid probably didn't have clearance to carry a weapon so the P-rep's responsibility would be to confiscate it. At best he would hand it back to Morgan.

“Here,” the man said instead, handing Reid something black in colour. “You can keep it under your tunic.”

Morgan took it from Reid, arching both eyebrows before he let out a little whistle of admiration. “Yieldfabric holster for easy shooting when aimed and fired through,” he commented. “Doesn't even need to be refibred. This thing costs a small fortune.” He looked up at the P-rep. “You sure?”

“You can give it back to me when all this is over,” Hotch said. He paused, then deadpanned, “You better give it back, this cost me three weeks of pay just for the holster alone, and that's not counting the straps and belts.” He marked another pause. “I also have a non-newtonian shirt in my cabin. I'll go and get it when I'm done with coffee. I'll also want that one back.”

Morgan was speechless for a moment. Then he finally nodded and said, “'Preciate it, man.”

Hotch nodded. “In return,” he said, “I'd like you to answer a few questions.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Morgan laughed, “Your P-rep training's showing, man. What am I, a witness?”

Hotch lifted one corner of his mouth in an expression that wasn't quite a smile. “Maybe, who knows. But I'm just kind of curious. I'm not going to stop helping you in any way that I can if you don't answer, but I'd just like to know what happened eleven years ago.”

Morgan stiffened, his smile slipping as his expression turned closed off and guarded. Reid looked up at him, frowning a little. Morgan ignored him, just as he ignored the way Garcia, Prentiss and the two other girls all paused and looked at him. “What do you mean?” he asked, his tone carefully calm.

“Eleven years ago,” Hotch said, “You appeared on Kaltek and made contact with a local smuggler named David Rossi. You rented an apartment with your mother and two sisters, as well as a place to keep the Aurora out of view. Before that, there are no mention of you. Anywhere. Birth records set your birthplace on Illin, but no records exist there of you or your mother ever living there.”

Morgan shifted. “I don't want to talk about that. Sorry, I'd just rather not. Ask me something else.”

Hotch nodded slowly. “Okay, then. Do you mind telling me where you bought the Aurora? It's not listed anywhere either.”

Morgan slowly licked his lips, wondering whether to answer or not. “I didn't buy it,” he finally said.

“Did you steal it?” Hotch asked and Morgan quickly shook his head.

“I might be a smuggler, but I'm no thief,” he said, somewhat defensively. He sighed. “Look, I found her, a'right? I was gunned down and my ship crashed. Managed to get in an escape pod and survived, but I needed to get back up in space.”

Ashley's voice was soft as she asked, “Why? Why was it so important to get back in space?”

“Were you in danger?” Jordan asked between two sips of coffee. “Needed to get out?”

“No!” Morgan said, louder than he should have. “That's not it. I needed to get my family out of danger. The fighting, it was too close to home, okay? I needed to get Mama and the girls outta there.” He ran his hand over his scalp, and when he let it drop, Spencer quietly took it and gave his fingers a little squeeze. Derek squeezed back to reassure him, but then he slid his fingers out of the young doctor's grasp. He needed a little space. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and licked his lips before he let out a sigh.

“So you,” Hotch hesitated for a moment, “you just found her?”

“Eight hours I was stuck walking some godawful planet in full spacesuit 'cause there was no oxygen,” Morgan exclaimed and started pacing. It was hard not to feel defensive, especially when a P-rep was asking all of the questions. He felt nearly guilty for taking the ship, but he shoved the feeling down, replaced it with annoyance instead. “And then I just found her, yes. I found the Aurora just, just there, man. I got in but there was no one inside. No one could survive that planet without a suit.” He stopped pacing and camped himself in front of Hotch. “I did a full scan for a sign that any other living organism might be _anywhere_ around and I didn't find any.” He shrugged. “So I got her started and went back up into space. That's all.”

“That, that sounds like a war zone,” Garcia commented, her voice a little shaky. Clooney padded over to her and licked her hand. She patted his head distractedly, her gaze never leaving Morgan's face.

“Yeah,” he said, his throat catching on the word.

“You never told me you were in a battle,” she said. “Nothing like that, anyway.”

“Hold on a moment!” Jordan took a step forward, setting her mug down on top of the table. “There wasn't anything like that going on, eleven years ago. If there had been a turf war this intense, there would have been a podcast about it, or an article on the newsfeed. I have never, ever read anything about intense fighting anywhere in, in all of my _life_.”

Garcia blinked, straightening on the couch. “There hasn't been a war anywhere in the colonized universe for two hundred and and twenty-four years,” she said. “Not since Earth was destroyed in a –” Her eyes suddenly widened and she exclaimed, “Oh, my god!” Morgan turned to face her, his jaw set, ready for her to spill it all. She stared at him and just whispered, “Derek. Derek Morgan.”

Reid suddenly got up. “I think every one should leave,” he commented quietly. “I really think you should leave. You can ask more questions tomorrow.”

Hotch was the first one to react. He set his mug down and turned around, making his way back towards the door. Prentiss followed suit. Ashley looked from Reid to Morgan, finished the last bite of cake that was on her plate and, mouth full, she got up to leave as well. Jordan upended her mug, set it down again and took Ashley's hand to lead her out.

Garcia rolled her tablet and slid it into its sleeve. “I'd really like to know,” she said. “Derek, you're my friend, you've been my friend for years, even though we hadn't met until you crashed on New Nevada. No matter what happened before, what you haven't told me, I'm still your friend.”

“Baby Girl,” Morgan said softly, but then he didn't know what to say and he fell silent. He licked his lips and swallowed, but still no word came to mind. She stood and slowly made her way over to him, Clooney following behind her. She stopped in front of the smuggler and gently placed one of her hands on his arm. He placed a hand over it and gave it a light squeeze. She hesitated, flicking Reid a quick look, but then she pushed herself on her tiptoes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. Clooney licked at Spencer's hand, no doubt worried about the strange atmosphere.

“You better leave me some cake, Reid,” she said, going back to pick up her bag from beside the couch. “If you don't, I won't give you anymore Turkish delights. And I mean, _ever_.” Reid's lips twitched upwards slightly in acknowledgement and she slid the tablet with its cover into her purse. She looked from one to the other, then nodded at them both. “Okay,” she finally said, “I'll see you boys tomorrow. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.” She headed toward the door.

When she was about to step out, Morgan said, “Penelope.” She turned around and tilted her head. Derek hesitated a moment, then he gave her a tight smile. “Thanks.” She smiled back, not one of her usual grins but an understanding, trusting smile. Then she nodded and left. The door closed behind her and Morgan started slowly counting the seconds in his head, eyes fixed on the door. He'd reached one hundred and thirteen when Reid finally spoke up.

“Derek,” he said softly. “I, well, I don't quite know what to do or say.” Morgan heard him shift nervously from one foot to the other. Then, there was a light tug on his sleeve. The smuggler looked down and there was Spencer's hand, so close to his. Reid let go of the fabric and his fingers slid over his skin. “We don't need to talk,” the younger man said.

“I,” Morgan began, and stopped because he had to swallow the tight knot he felt in his throat. “I need some air,” he finally said. He snagged his mask from the top of the sideboard and walked out. The door silently slid into place behind him, between Reid and him. Too close, every one was just too close; he couldn't breathe. He took the hallway to his right and started walking, his long, strong strides putting more and more distance between the young genius and him.

* * *


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The origins of one Derek Morgan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The first of three reveals! Was a little tough to write, even though I'd been planning for this for a long time._

* * *

** Chapter 25 **

It was dark out and even the most party-hard people had turned in by the time Morgan finally stopped walking. He was lucky the ship was as big as it was, or he would have been forced to go around in circles hours ago. He made it back to his suite just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon and tapped the function on his handheld. The door silently slid open, then closed behind him. Everything was dark inside of their suite but he couldn't tell if Reid was asleep or if he'd gone out. He hoped the young doctor was only sleeping, because he didn't like the thought of Spencer wandering around alone out there, not after being attacked so many times, and certainly not after hearing that their enemies found him _expendable_. As if he were a worker whose employer were thinking of firing. He should never have left him alone, no matter how uncomfortable he'd felt. Better to answer the younger man's questions than to come back to an empty room.

He all but ran through the living room area and was ready to punch the bedroom door if it didn't open for him. Thankfully, it did, and there was just enough light in the room for him to see the form of the young doctor lying on top of the mattress. The tension ebbed out of his shoulders and he walked in quietly. Reid was sleeping right in the middle of the bed, his tablet half under one hand. Morgan sat beside him and eased the rigid reading pad away, setting it down onto the nightstand closest to him. Spencer moved his head and murmured something in his sleep, making the older man smile in spite of himself. When Reid tried to bury deeper under the covers, Morgan chuckled and the young doctor frowned. “Morgan?” he mumbled questioningly.

“I'm here,” the smuggler answered. “What do you say you leave me some room to get into bed, mm?” He took off his belt and got out of his tunic. Reid shuffled away as best he could, twisted as he was into the bed covers. Morgan took his boots and socks off and lay down in his loose cotton trousers, helping Reid to untangle himself as best he could, just so that he could slide under the blanket himself. Then he pulled the young doctor closer, giving him a light squeeze when Spencer snuggled against his side. “I'm sorry,” he said, staring up at the ceiling.

“For what?” Reid mumbled against his skin.

“Leaving so suddenly last night,” Morgan replied.

There was a long silence. When Spencer finally answered, he said, “I'm sleeping, Morgan.”

The older man chuckled and squeezed him again. He kept staring as the sun came up and light shone brighter and brighter into their room. He wasn't aware of when he finally drifted off, but he came awake to an empty bed. The door was closed, but he was pretty certain Reid was in the other room. He sat up and stretched, pondering on taking a shower now versus later. He finally decided that he'd exercise a bit first, seeing how he hadn't managed to keep his usual routine for the entire time they'd been on New Nevada, and then he'd shower and have coffee. When he stepped out into the main room after his workout, Reid was on the couch and turned to him to say good morning. Only, he forgot to. His eyebrows arched up high and his eyes travelled appreciatively down Morgan's chest, obviously liking the look of his boyfriend's body when it was slicked with the sweat of an intense workout. Morgan snorted. “So, should I go shower or just go back to bed?”

Reid coloured slightly and, his eyes fixed firmly on Morgan's face, he shook his head. “Take your shower,” he said. “I'll make more coffee.” He pushed himself up and planted a kiss on Morgan's lips before slipping out of the smuggler's arms when he tried to embrace him. “Shower,” he laughed. “I just took mine.”

Oh well. Morgan made his way to the bathroom and showered quickly, shaved, then got dressed in a clean set of clothes. When he stepped out of the bathroom again, he was greeted with the smell of fresh coffee. Reid was pouring some into a mug, and Morgan wasn't sure for whom it was intended, so he made his way over and wrapped both arms around Spencer's waist, asking, “Is that for you or for me?”

Spencer chuckled. “It was for me, but I could be convinced to let you have it.” Derek breathed out a laugh and kissed the side of his neck. “Okay,” Reid said, “I'm convinced.” He held the mug to the side and Morgan took it from him and went to sit at the table. Spencer put something in the tiny oven and picked up his own mug to pour more coffee into it. When the oven beeped, he brought the plate he'd taken out of it along with his own mug of caffeine to the table. He sat across from Derek and pushed the plate towards him. “Got you breakfast,” he said. “Sorry it's reheated; I didn't think you'd sleep quite so late.”

“Nah, that's fine,” Morgan said. “Thanks.” He took a bite and looked at his boyfriend, chewing slowly, wondering when Reid was going to start asking questions. The young doctor tilted his head and arched an eyebrow, but Morgan only shook his head and went back to his food. Breakfast went by in silence, and perhaps Spencer wasn't sure how to ask what he'd obviously started to guess the previous night, but he didn't speak up, not once. Finally, Morgan pushed his plate away and got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. “So,” he said, his back still turned to Reid, “aren't you going to ask?”

“Ask what?” Spencer wanted to know.

Morgan turned around and leaned back against the sideboard. “Who I am and where I'm from,” he specified. “I thought you wanted to know.”

“I do want to know,” the younger man said, turning in his seat so he could look at Morgan. “But only if you're ready to share.”

“But you've already started to guess,” Derek said, “else you wouldn't have kicked the others out last night.”

Reid nodded. “I have. I am pretty certain that you're not just _a_ Derek Morgan but _the_ Derek Morgan.” He licked his lips slowly. “You're not just someone whose parents are history or film buffs, but you're actually the one history buffs name their sons after.”

Morgan blinked and raised his eyebrows. “People name kids after me?” he asked. “I feel like I should feel kind of flattered, but I just don't get why they would.”

“You make a kind of romantic historical figure, you know? Like Robin Hood or King Arthur.” Reid had a little smile, watching him walk around the table again.

“Who're Robin Hood and King Arthur?” Morgan asked out of habit, sliding back into his chair.

“I'd tell you,” Spencer said, smile widening, “but you already know the answer, don't you? Better than a smuggler born thirty-some years ago would.”

Morgan shrugged. “Maybe.” He looked at Reid quietly for some time. When he spoke up again, his voice was much calmer than he thought it would be, under the circumstances. “I've never told anyone what happened back there.”

“I know,” Reid said softly, “or at the very least, I can think of many reasons why you wouldn't want to.” He took a sip of coffee and added, “When you said no one remembered any of the gunfights you'd been in, you were being pretty literal, weren't you.”

Morgan chuckled. “Yeah, yeah I was.”

“So,” Reid said, looking up at him. “Here is Derek Morgan, thirty-three years old yet born in Chicago, on _Earth_ , which was destroyed over two hundred years ago.” He huffed out a small, amused laugh. “I don't see why you'd ever want to keep that quiet.”

Morgan chuckled. “Yeah, no reason not to broadcast that, huh.” He eyed Spencer quietly for some time, before finally commenting, “I thought you'd have a million questions.”

“I do have many questions,” the young doctor said, “though maybe not as many as a million.” He paused and licked his lips pensively. “I don't want you to feel pressured to tell me anything now, though. I figure you'll tell me if you want me to know.”

Derek frowned at him. “Is that actually okay with you? Not knowing, I mean.” He sat back in his chair running one hand over his head. “I thought you'd probably hate not knowing things.”

Spencer laughed. “Derek,” he said, the smuggler's first name sounding so right falling from his lips, “I know just enough about many, many things to be aware of the fact that I will never, ever know _everything_.” He stole a bit of bread from Morgan's plate, which was all right with the smuggler since he was done eating anyway. When he had swallowed, Reid continued, “I'd love to know more about you, but not if it upsets you. I'd rather not know than chase you away by being too annoying.”

“Well,” Morgan said after a moment, “I think it'd be fine to talk now. You've already guessed all that I know, anyway.”

“So you don't know how it happened?” the young doctor asked.

Derek shook his head. “Not a clue.” He sighed, then shook his head again. “I mean, what I said yesterday about finding the Aurora, all of it was true. Only by the time I got back to my Ma's, two years had passed and I was branded a deserter. It was only a month or so for me. The fighting had moved away, but I was still afraid.” He sighed again, and took a sip of coffee so he could stall long enough to be certain he had himself under control.

“Because for you, only a few weeks had gone by,” Spencer said softly.

Morgan looked up at him and nodded. “Got Mama and the girls on the Aurora and left,” he said after a moment. Then he felt silent, thinking back on those days spent aboard the Aurora with his mother and sisters. “By the time we got to Kaltek,” he began again, but he wasn't sure how to finish his sentence, so he let it hang.

“More than two hundred years had passed,” Reid finished for him, and Morgan nodded. Some more time went by in silence, the two men lost in thoughts. “How much time had passed for you?” Spencer finally asked.

“Not quite three months,” Derek answered easily. “I thought we'd just reached some outpost, far from Earth, far from the war.”

“Say,” Spencer suddenly said, “what about the birth record and DNA-map? I finally understand why you had to asked if my mother not registering my birth was legal, but it wasn't done on Earth, so what did you do?”

“Rossi,” Morgan answered. “I was lucky to hit an immigration officer who wasn't entirely legal and he referred me to David Rossi who arranged to have records made for us. I've been working with him since, though not every job I take is through him.”

Reid nodded. “Does he know?”

“About the whole two hundred year thing?” Morgan shook his head. “He doesn't. He thinks I'm some kid from a backwater planet who came to Kaltek not knowing anything.” He paused. “In a way, that wasn't entirely untrue.”

Reid laughed quietly. “I guess it wasn't.” He took a bit of coffee. “Wow,” he said once he'd swallowed, “don't take this the wrong way, but I think I'm having a bit of an inner fanboy moment right now.”

The smuggler made a face. “What? Why?!”

“You have to realize something,” Spencer said, “you've just told a self-titled science fiction buff that you come from the past on a spaceship you've found on a desert planet. You don't know where the ship's from. It could be alien, for all we know. Also, you don't know how the time-travel happened, which would infer that there might be more the ship is capable of.” He laughed. “Also, I totally had a boyhood crush on the mythical Derek Morgan.”

Derek blinked. “I hadn't thought of that.” He threw Spencer a look. “So, you fell for me because of my name or because of my charms?”

The young doctor shook his head slowly. “I was curious about you at first because of the name. I fell for your good looks and the easy manner with which you made things happen.” He paused. “And, I guess, because I was always so _aware_ of you all of the time after that trek through the desert.”

“What do you mean?” Morgan asked.

Reid shrugged. “I don't know, or at the very least, I'm not sure. It's just suddenly, I realized that I liked when I looked at you and you were looking at me instead of the controls of your ship. And though I want to be back en route as soon as possible so that I can see my mother, I,” he hesitated a moment, “I kind of wished we'd never find the Aurora.” He winced. “It's even worse saying that out loud. I was jealous of a ship.”

Morgan laughed. “Well, she's my girl, and you can't replace her.” He saw the young doctor lower his head and he chuckled. “But your my boy, and she can't replace you either,” he assured him. “You will just have to learn to share me.”

Reid thought about it for a moment. “You don't have sex with your ship, do you?”

Morgan had been taking a sip of coffee and he promptly choked on it. “Wh-what?!”

“Because I don't think I could deal with that,” Reid went on.

“Hold on, hold on, hold on,” Morgan said, holding a hand up. “Did you just ask me if I was having sex with a spaceship?!”

“I read that some people do,” Spencer said, looking way too serious for the topic at hand.

“What, you serious?!” At the young doctor's nod, Derek quickly assured him, “No, Reid, I am certainly _not_ having sex with my ship.” He paused. “I can't believe I had to say that out loud.”

“I don't think it's up to me to criticize how other people see or express their own sexuality,” Spencer said seriously. “I just wanted to be clear on the fact that I don't want you to seek sexual release elsewhere.”

“Not even my own hand?” Morgan wanted to know. Reid levelled an eloquent look at him. “What, I'm just sayin'.” Spencer huffed, making Derek grin. “Okay then, I get it. No sex with people other than one Spencer Reid. So long as you don't fantasize about any other Derek Morgan.”

“I thought you were the only real one?” Reid asked.

“Ah, but there's the one you imagined in your head when you were younger, right? Was he more handsome?” Morgan gave him his best grin, striking a pose at the same time.

Reid laughed. “No, he doesn't compare to the real thing, that's for sure.”

“Really now,” Morgan said, “that's good to know.” He laughed and Reid smiled with him. After a moment, Morgan asked him, “So, like, what do they say about me?”

Reid frowned confusedly. “Who do you mean?”

“You know,” Derek said, making a vague movement with his hand. “People. You said I was a mythological person like Robin Hood and King Arthur, right? And people get named after me. But the last I saw of my own time, I was deemed a rebel and a traitor who had deserted his post.”

“You crashed your ship, right?” Spencer asked. The smuggler nodded, so the younger man continued, “Your ship was seen.”

It was Morgan's turn to be hopelessly confused. “What do you mean?”

“Before the Aurora, you were on the Seeker, right? It was seen, many, many times since your disappearance. Each time, it was seen by people about to die from an enemy attack, be it unscrupulous space pirate or some unavoidable collision. The phenomenon's been said to be induced by mass hysteria, or the proof that the first few centuries of space exploration were made by unscientific, uncivilized, superstitious people. But by then, some movie people had made the story into an epic tale that people loved and you kind of became legend.”

“Really?” Morgan grinned. “I think I'd love to see that movie.”

“The movies – yes,” Reid added when he saw Morgan's look, “they made more than one – disappeared from publication around sixty years ago. Only devoted collectors have access to them nowadays.” He had a secret little smile. “I happen to own a copy of each movie. The tale is fairly common; they had you pegged as a lone hero who, disillusioned with the reality of war, decided to save people who didn't deserve the violence dealt onto them by an over-abusive and over-controlling government.”

“That's,” Morgan began, but then he wasn't sure what he thought of that, so he shook his head. “Er, that's kind of nuts.”

Reid laughed. “Oh, it doesn't end there,” he said. “From the typical hero who saves people from an oppressive ruler, a theme that was worked on multiple times through the millennia, they gradually went into another common theme in myths.”

“What's that?” Derek asked him.

“A true hero,” Spencer said with a happy little smile. “One who comes magically whenever one needs help, wherever one needs saving. Like an ancient god, or some of PSA superheroes, you'd just appear with your ship whenever there was a damsel in distress left to die tethered to an asteroid with only two days left of oxygen in her tank, or whenever there was a starliner full of passengers heading towards a supernova. They made you more handsome, more dashing, and more popular than Han Solo himself.”

Derek let the smile that wanted to form slowly pull his lips upwards. “Who's Han Solo?” he asked, as if he didn't know better than anyone born in the past two hundred years.

Spencer smiled and lightly said, “Oh, I doubt you've ever heard of him. He's just a Pre-Space Age mythological character that inspired our forefathers to reach for those stars we now travel to.”

“Really,” Derek said, loving how Spencer was playing along, “you don't say.”

* * *


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparing for docking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Shortest chapter in this fic. I'm sorry._

* * *

** Chapter 26 **

The week they spent on the ship went by both too slowly and too quickly. The others often came to Morgan and Reid's significantly larger room, to the point that they were sometimes a little intrusive, but Derek didn't care too much. Reid, being significantly less social than he was, often went to hide out in the bedroom with his reading pad. At night, they communicated without words, wrapped into each other, panting, touching, caressing. Morgan was secretly delighted. His lover was both daring and a quick learner, and there was little that he wasn't willing to try at least once. And if something made him a little uncomfortable, he had no problem telling Derek either. It was hard not to expect something to break the peace. But as the days unfolded, Morgan's grin only got wider and wider, something that he was relentlessly teased for whenever the girls saw him. All too soon, they woke to an alert on their handhelds warning them that they were nearing Varna and that they were scheduled to dock mid-afternoon.

Morgan was the first one up, and he tapped the alert on both handhelds, then made his way to the kitchen and started the coffeemaker. Clooney followed, tail wagging. Derek scratched him behind the ears, patted his flank and fed him. That taken care of, he ordered breakfast, expecting Reid to wake up as soon as the smell of coffee wafted into the bedroom through the door that Derek had left open. It only took a few minutes, and Spencer shuffled into the room, eyes barely open, hair sticking up all around his face. “Morning,” Derek greeted.

Spencer murmured something that sounded something like, “Mrn,” and he shuffled on to the coffee machine. He stared it down, as if he were willing it to percolate faster. It took another couple of minutes before the machine clicked off. Reid was already reaching for the pot when Morgan handed him a mug. When the younger man had moved to the table with his precious liquid, the smuggler poured himself a cup. He sipped at it slowly, waiting for his boyfriend – yeah, still strange to think that way – to come awake.

Eventually, Spencer's eyes opened fully and he blinked a few times. He turned to Morgan and had a little smile. “Good morning,” he greeted.

“Yeah,” Morgan chuckled, “welcome back amongst the living. How was your sleep?”

“Pretty good, thanks,” Reid answered. “I didn't think it'd be this easy to get used to sleeping with someone.” He noticed that Derek's eyebrows had raised slightly and that he was grinning. He huffed a quiet laugh. “You know what I mean,” he defended, “make it _used to sleeping next to someone_ , then.”

“Sure, if that's how you want it to be,” Derek teased and the younger man shook his head with a small chuckle. Breakfast proceeded with much teasing and quiet laughter and Morgan could definitely say that he was having a grand time. As they were clearing out the table, he mentioned, “You know we're docking today, right?”

Spencer turned towards him. “Is it today?”

“Yeah,” Morgan nodded. “The ping we got this morning said that we'd dock sometime mid-afternoon.”

The young doctor nodded and walked to the couch where he let himself fall gracelessly. A moment, and he straightened up, crossed his legs, feet on the seat, then he reached for his reading pad. Morgan nearly told him he should start gathering his stuff, but then he decided against it. Reid was an adult, he could do whatever he wanted.

He, himself, started going around the bedroom, common area and bathroom, getting his things together. He brought everything to the bed and then started organizing his clothes and toiletries. Once in a while, he went to check on his boyfriend, but Reid was just reading quietly, the dog next to him. It seemed like he'd be the only one ready in time. Even Clooney was being lazy. He folded his clothes carefully and placed them in his bag, and even checked the laundry machine three times to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything. Every drawer, cupboard and container in the entire suite got the same treatment. Once he was absolutely certain that nothing was going to be left behind – he had put Reid's stuff down onto the top of the mattress on his side of the bed, but he wasn't going to pack for him – he picked up his bags and went to drop them by the door.

He turned towards Reid, watching him read for a few minutes. They would never be ready on time, at this rate. He had to do something. Maybe he could just call Reid's attention to the luggage. “Where's your stuff?” he asked. “We're docking in an hour. You should have your bags ready.”

“They'll be ready,” Reid assured him, still reading on his tablet. Clooney lifted his head and looked at Morgan. His tail hit the floor with a few quiet _whump_ sounds as he wagged his tail.

Morgan stood by the couch and watched Spencer for a while, watched the words fly upwards on the small screen. He didn't want to stay there and stress about Reid not being ready on time. “Well,” he said after a few minutes had passed in silence, “I'm going to see the girls. You gonna stay here and pack?” Spencer nodded slowly, eyes riveted on the screen. “Okay,” Derek sighed, “see you later, then.”

He hesitated a moment, wanting to see if the younger man would get up and start packing. It would be more fun to hang out all together, after all. But the young doctor didn't move, so Morgan ordered, “Clooney, stay. You guard him well, you hear?” He turned away and slid his fingers over the open door function. Out in the hallway, he didn't have very far to go to reach the girls' room. He sent a cheerful chime to alert them of his presence and the door slid opend. “Heya girls!” he called out when he walked in, but then he spotted Hotch and he quickly added, “Hey, Hotch.” The dark-haired P-rep nodded back.

“Reid isn't with you?” Garcia wanted to know.

“Nah, he was slacking off and since I was done packing, I left him to it. Cabin boy is supposed to come later and clean up the room and all that. It'll suck for him and he'll have to put his mask on, but it's his fault for not getting to it sooner.” He slumped down on one of the beds, sitting next to Prentiss and the P-rep. “I didn't want to just look at him read and worry that he's not gonna be packed when we're cleared to get off this ship.”

“Oh, crap!” Jordan suddenly stood from where she was sitting on the other bed. “I'm not done packing!” She started going around the room, picking up things here and there.

“So,” Prentiss began and Morgan knew that she was going to tease him. She had that look in her eyes. “Doctor Reid, huh.”

Morgan eyed her. “So,” he countered, “P-rep Hotch, huh.”

She pursed her lips. “Oh shut up,” she sighed, then smiled at the man next to her. Morgan watched her quietly. She always had this guarded, sort of private smile, and this was no different. Or wasn't it? There was a touch of warmth he wasn't sure he'd seen before. He wondered if that was how he smiled at Reid. He frowned lightly to himself and banished the thought from his mind. So what if he was fond of him. It didn't mean anything; it certainly didn't mean that they were in a sort of together-forever-after romance flick. This was reality, and reality was more complicated than this.

A piece of popcorn bounced off of his forehead. “New Nevada to the third moon of Kanata!” Garcia sing-songed. “What'cha thinkin' about?”

“Nothing,” Morgan lied with a shrug. “So, what news have you got for me today, mama?” he wanted to know.

“Oh, right! I forgot!” Garcia turned her chair around and typed on her pad that she had set up on the little desk. “Reid-mama's all fine. Ship still going steady. Rossi called the Aurora earlier and I managed to intercept the call. I told him a bit of what's been happening here, and he said he'd reach Varna sometime this afternoon. But we've also got our hands on a call that said the Fisher King is also coming here. I tried to intercept more of their communication, but they suddenly changed the encryption. It'll take me a little while to get through it.”

Morgan nodded slowly. “Thanks, Angelfish,” he said. “Seems like action's going to start again as soon as we dock.” He ran his hand over his shaved head a few times.

Jordan paused in her packing and camped herself in front of him. “Hey, don't go all worried on us,” she berated him, “between you and me, there's nothing that can happen that we can't deal with.”

“Glad to see I count for nothing,” Emily laughed. “Plus, you haven't seen Hotch shoot. He's an even better marksman than I am, and that's saying something.”

“I'm starting to feel useless,” Ashley commented. “I haven't had to cook in about a week and I'm not a fighter.”

Emily eyed her. “You know,” she mused, “I could always use a cook on my flagship. JJ's not bad, but she only knows about ten dishes and I'm sick of them all. I can't cook worth shit and most of the others are better pirates than they are chefs.”

“I didn't hear that,” Hotch commented.

“Didn't hear what?” Jordan wanted to know.

“Did you hear anything about piracy?” Hotch asked Morgan. “Because I sure didn't.”

“Nope,” Morgan answered, catching up quickly to what the P-rep was saying, “didn't hear anything about that.” He paused. “So how exactly will you guys work out, cause I can't figure that out.”

“We made an arrangement,” Prentiss explained. “When we're on land, we're both unemployed.”

“Huh,” Morgan chuckled, eyebrows arching up significantly, “smart.”

“I thought so too,” Hotch said with a half-smile. “She insisted that we shake on it, too.”

“Not too fond of spoken words,” Emily laughed. “I much prefer something more concrete. I usually insist on contracts,” she turned to Ashley, “so if you want in, you'll have to sign one.” She shrugged. “We couldn't really write anything down, for both our protection, so it was the next best thing.”

“If every single person who comes to work for you has to sign a contract,” Ashley wanted to know, “isn't that dangerous for you, too?”

“Nah,” Emily laughed, “all the contract says is you're going to work on the Fiery Maiden until you're fired or you resign and that I'm not liable for injuries. We offer free healthcare, though. I mean, we do have a doc on board.”

“Cool,” Morgan commented, “you didn't have one when I was in the fleet.”

“Comes in pretty handy,” Emily agreed. “Especially since we don't have to find the closest hospital when shit happens. More time in space means more money for all.”

Morgan nodded and chuckled. “Oh, do you remember that one time,” he began, and he started remiscing with her of their adventures together. Soon, they were regaling the others with one tale after another of their time working as partners. They were careful not to say things about illegal activities, but whenever one of them slipped, Hotch pretended not to have heard and Morgan's opinion of him only got better and better. The hour sped so fast that it felt like a few minutes at most. Finally, Derek got to his feet. “All right,” he sighed, “I'd better go check on Reid and make sure everything is in order and we're ready to go.”

Garcia laughed. “Go, make good use of your cabin while you still have one.” Her teasing got a few cheers and catcalls from the others. Prentiss in particular had that smug grin plastered all over her face.

“Shut up,” Derek riposted. “I don't know how long it'll take to dock, but I doubt it would be enough time.”

“What,” Emily scoffed, “are you having _problems?_ ”

If he hadn't known that she was teasing, he would have been offended by her insinuations. Instead, he was sort of partly amused. “No,” he replied, trying to keep his gave as serious as possible so his ripost could have more punch, “we simply both have a pretty wild imagination.” His comment roused a second wave of cheers and catcalls. With a grin, he waved at his friends and left the room. When the door slid shut, he let out a soft sigh. A scoff, an amused shake of his head, and he started down the hallway towards his suite.

The first thing that he saw was the luggage. It was all packed neatly next to the door; Morgan's on the left, Reid's on the right. On the little table to his left, a cup of coffee, still steaming. “Reid?” he called out hesitantly. If coffee was on the table, the young doctor couldn't be very far. “Reid?” he called out again when he was certain that no answer would come from his first try. Maybe Spencer hadn't heard him. Starting to feel a little more concerned when he realized there was still no answer from the younger man, he rapidly walked to the bathroom and pushed the door open, thinking that Reid might have been in the bath, ear buds in to listen to some obscure music that Morgan had never even heard of. But no, no Reid. So where was he?

Next, he checked the bedroom, hoping to find him asleep on the mattress. The bed was half-made and Reid's handheld device was on the floor. Fear trickled down his spine. Something was wrong; something was _very_ wrong. He should have known better than to leave Reid alone like this. He shouldn't have assumed that they were safe here. He walked around the bed, calling, “Cloon–!” He never finished the name. Clooney was lying on his side, eyes closed. Morgan rushed to him and put his hand on the dog's chest and sighed in relief. The canine was only sleeping. Probably a stun shot. He breathed out a soft curse and went around their quarters once more. No other sign of the younger man; no clue as to what had happened, other than a half-made bed and a handheld on the floor.

... Half-made bed?

“The cabin boy!” Morgan suddenly realized and he cursed again. Alone, the scrawny teenager hardly seemed like a threat. He probably had some help. “He must have signalled somehow that one of of us had been left alone. _Damn it!_ ” And who knew how many friends the little weasel had on board.

Morgan went to crouch by his bag and retrieved his pad. He tried calling Reid and heard a faint buzzing sound. He got up and took the two steps that separated his stuff from Spencer's. The brown satchel was with the rest of his luggage. After a brief hesitation, Morgan lifted the flap and peered in. There was the young doctor's reading tablet, vibrating softly at short intervals. Morgan terminated the call. No tablet, no handheld. Short of going outside and frantically yelling his name, there was nothing Morgan could do. He was completely powerless. And Reid?

Reid had disappeared.

* * *


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hatching a plan .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Written with a headache and half asleep for a good portion of it._

* * *

** Chapter 27 **

Morgan stood helplessly in the middle of the living room part of his suite and ran his hand over his shaved head a few times, letting out a sigh. “Okay,” he muttered to himself, trying desperately to think of what to do. “Okay.” He crouched next to his dog and scratched him gently, wishing he could will him awake. Hell, he wished he could will Reid to reappear suddenly in a puff of smoke like he saw magicians do in old Earth movies. He had to find him, somehow. He didn't even know where to begin. Should he advise security? Would their ID hold to scrutiny if he got the officials mixed into it? He had to talk to Garcia. And Hotch! Hotch could help.

He looked down at Clooney, wondering if he could just leave him like this. He'd be okay, surely. Whoever had kidnapped his boyfriend probably didn't give a damn about the dog. Yeah, Cloon would be fine. His decision taken, he pushed himself up to his feet and his hand was flicking the option on his handheld that would open the main door before he had even gone out of the bedroom. He left the cabin and strode rapidly towards the girls'. It was only a short walk away and it barely took a minute before he was at their door. He knocked sharply, resisting the urge to pace. He was full of nervous energy and could barely stand in place, so when Jordan opened the door with a cheerful, “Hey,” he stepped inside the room without responding. She stared after him before flicking her fingers on the panel that would close the door, muttering, “Come on in, why don't you.”

“Baby girl, I need you,” Morgan said by way of greeting.

Garcia came out of the bathroom, obviously in the middle of getting ready from the everyday girl he'd left earlier into something more city-worthy. She was wearing a bathrobe, her makeup half on, with hot curlers in her hair. “Hey hot stuff,” she said, “I'm getting ready to be seen in public so can't it wait?”

“No,” he replied, finally giving in to the urge to pace. He completed three full ellipses in the tight space between the two beds, trying to figure out what to say. He finally settled for, “Reid's gone.” He ran his hand over his head and huffed out a sigh.

“What do you mean, gone?” Ashley's head appeared from behind the bathroom door. “He left?”

“Not voluntarily,” Morgan specified. He sighed again, ran his hand over his head one more time, then threw his hands up. “His stuff's still in our suite.”

Jordan sat on the bed closest to her. “What makes you think he hasn't just gone for a walk. He's been cooped up in that cabin for an entire week. I would have gone more than a little stir-crazy.”

“They drugged the dog,” Derek explained.

“Clooney?” Ashley asked, eyes going round. “Oh, no! Is he okay?”

“He's fine, Clooney's fine,” Morgan reassured the young woman. He hoped he was really okay though. He'd been pretty attached to the dog from the get-go. “He's unconscious but he's breathing and his heart rate is steady. Actually, here.” He got Reid's handheld device and extended his arm towards her. “Would you mind maybe going to stay with him? You can finish getting ready there.”

“Sure thing, hold on.” She disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later she called out, “Jordan, can you go through my bag and find my large sunglasses? Ah, ow!” There were dull thuds coming from the bathroom.

Garcia made a face and loudly asked, “Ash, you okay?”

“Yeah,” the blonde replied. “Ah, just fell while putting on my pants.”

“Okay,” Morgan said, handing Penelope the device, “you give her that, baby girl, all right?” He headed to the door. “I'm going to go find Hotch and Prentiss.” He paused just before walking out. “Can you work me some magic and find as much as you can about calls to and from the ship?”

“That is a lot of calls to filter through, babycakes,” she told him, “but I'll do everything I can and then some, okay?” She sent him a sympathetic look. “We'll find him, Derek. We'll find him.”

“I hope so,” he replied, not as optimistic as she was. “I really hope we do.” He walked out into the hallway and brought his own handheld up so he could look up the number and location of Prentiss and Hotch's cabin. It was two floors down, and Morgan used the first staircase he could find, since the elevators were in the opposite direction and were likely to be slower anyway. He rapidly went down the steps and strode to the room, already calling Prentiss.

“Morgan,” she answered, sounding a little annoyed, “this had better be important.”

“They've got Reid,” he told her quickly. “Is Hotch with you?”

There was a soft sound of amusement, something like a snort, at the end of the line. “Yes,” she answered pointedly, “Hotch is with me.” There was a pause. “Give us two minutes, okay?”

By then, Morgan had just reached the door. “I'm outside,” he told her. “Open up whenever you're decent.”

“Always the gentleman,” she commented, and the line went dead. The place was soundproof, so he couldn't hear whatever was going on inside, but eventually, the door did open. Hotch was there to greet him. Prentiss was a little further in, brushing her hair.

“What's happened with Reid?” the P-rep asked him, his brows furrowed in the most intense, serious expression Morgan had ever seen.

“Dunno, man,” he said, walking into the room. He sighed and put his hands on his hips, trying to think of a way to explain the situation. “Happened when I was with you guys, I think,” he finally added. “I got back to our suite and the dog was out like a light. Our stuff was all there, but no Reid.”

“So he left for a bit,” Emily said with a shrug. “He's been stuck in that ro–”

Derek had heard the argument not five minutes ago, so he interrupted, “And he drugged the dog before going for a walk without his handheld? No, man. Someone took him.” He ran a hand over his head, then let it drop. “Shit, man, they called him _expendable_. What if they hurt him? What if they –” He couldn't finish this line of thought.

“If they wanted to kill him,” Hotch said slowly, “I'm pretty sure they would have done it already.” He thought in silence for a moment. “No, they want him for something. They took the time to drug the dog and kidnap him, there's gotta be a reason.” He lowered his head, bringing his hand up to his chin as he gravely pondered the intricate problem that he was suddenly thrown into. Or at least that's how he looked to Derek, all serious and intense like a proper detective. Hopefully, he was as efficient a detective as he looked.

“So what do we do?” Morgan wanted to know. “You're a P-rep. Hotch, can't you just call your buddies to, I dunno, investigate this shit?”

Hotch slowly raised his head, nailing him with a hard look. “Are you absolutely certain that mixing the P-reps into your personal business is a good idea?” He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head. “I'm not working right now, so I'm just Hotch, not a P-rep. And as Prentiss' friend, I would advise you against this course of action. It could have negative repercussions on you, on your boyfriend, and, I expect, all of your group of friends present here.”

“I don't care, man,” Morgan said with a sigh. “After we find Reid, you can drag me to jail, impound my ship, slap me with a fine, I don't care. Just help me find him.”

There was a soft beeping sound, indicating that he had a call on his handheld. He brought it up and saw Garcia on the small display. He connected the call. “Baby girl, please tell me you've got some good news for me.”

“I wish it were so, handsome,” she said with a sigh. “I've only got worrying news at best. About thirty minutes ago, a safety boat left the ship. According to the weight that was in it when it was launched, the data indicates it likely carried three passengers. I managed to get my hands on the security camera picture that was taken upon launch. Sending it to your handheld now.”

There was another soft _beep_ , and when Morgan glanced at the screen, he saw a tiny, rather fuzzy image. There was that blasted cabin boy, along with a large man he'd never seen before. Right in the middle of the little shuttle-boat, sitting pretty normally, there was Reid, looking pretty much as he always looked, which was slightly bemused, head in the clouds. Something struck Derek as very, very wrong with this picture. He couldn't quite put his finger on what had caused the slight tightening in his chest when he looked at Reid's face on the picture. Of course, there was the question of why Spencer would go with these two apes in the first place, but that wasn't what bothered Morgan. Well, not what bothered him _the most_ , that was.

He slid the picture away, and Garcia's face reappeared on the tiny screen. “What do you want me to do, sweet cheeks?” she asked him.

“I don't know,” he answered, feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all. Life had been so much simpler two months prior, when he'd known nothing of geniuses, sneaky professors, mythological kings and all of this stupid fiasco. He let out a deep sigh and rubbed his free hand over his face. “I don't know, doll-face,” he repeated.

“How much longer until we dock?” Hotch asked.

“Well, my dark and handsome one,” Garcia answered, “we're starting docking procedures now. Estimated time is thirty-four minutes.”

“Too long,” Morgan interjected. “I'm taking a shuttle.”

“You don't even know where that shuttle went,” Emily piped up. “How are you going to find your boy-toy in the city among all of the people?”

“Don't call him that,” Derek protested. “And I don't know, man. I just, I don't know. What other option do we have? I can't alert authorities, I can't make a scene, and I've got a kidnapped genius, a hacker, two dancing girls, a pirate and a P-rep. If you know what to do with all of this, you tell me cause I'm all out of ideas.”

Hotch was silent for a moment. “We'll find a way,” he assured Morgan. “Since they seem to be after you and your ship, I think the act of abducting Reid was simply a way to get at you. He should be safe so long as you give them what they want.”

“They can have the blasted thing if they want,” Morgan growled. “There's no way I'm leaving my boyfriend with those stupid apes. Plus, Aurora's just –” He suddenly cut mid-sentence. He didn't think he was ready to tell the P-rep about all of the ways that his ship was extraordinary.

Hotch eyed him for a moment. “We don't presently have the ship,” he commented after a moment. “Do you think she's in their hands already?”

“If they have it,” Morgan agreed, “then it's likely they'll want the codes from me to disengage the emergency protocol that I initiated when Rothschild showed his true colours. There's only one problem with that.” He marked a pause, looking from Hotch to Prentiss. “There's part of my code that's linked to a recognition software. It only responds to my own personal electrical imprint, appearance and voice. So basically, I have to go on-board.”

“Which means they'd have two hostages,” Hotch said, frowning. This bit of news obviously displeased him, judging by his expression.

“Guys,” that was Garcia, “I know where the Aurora is. She's been sending me her coordinates.”

“So,” Morgan began slowly, “if I go with them voluntarily, you guys could join us there. Well, the ones who can hold their own if it comes to a gunfight.”

Prentiss counted on her fingers as she named them. “That means me, Hotch, and... Anyone else?”

“Jordan's a good shot,” Morgan informed her. “Plus Rossi's supposed to be in town.”

“Four people,” Hotch concluded. “This could get tricky.”

“Doesn't matter,” the smuggler replied. “I'm going with them, backup or no backup.”

Hotch studied his face carefully, obviously assessing his determination. “Okay,” he finally said. “Do you know how many people are involved?”

“At least thirty-five, probably more,” Morgan answered. “But I don't know how many are on solid ground. The Aurora can't really have more than ten people inside it or they'll be stepping all over one another. If more of them are on site, they'll probably be outside around the ship.”

“That helps,” Hotch said slowly. “Okay, whenever we move in, we're going to need the cover of darkness. Can you stall them until nightfall?”

Morgan though about it long and hard. Nightfall was long hours away. But he was not defeated yet, and he did have some aces hidden up his sleeves that no one knew about yet. He hoped that he could keep it this way, but Reid had come to mean enough to him that he was ready to show his hands if need be. “Okay,” he finally said, “I can do it.”

Hotch nodded and turned to Prentiss. “Can you have your people closer to the planet in case?”

“I'll call JJ,” she agreed. “It could still take them a few days to get close enough to be any help.”

“There's nothing to say they'll move today,” Hotch told her, and Morgan had to agree that it made sense, but he wasn't looking forward to days of just pacing and waiting. Hopefully they'd send them their terms sooner rather than later.

“Guys?” That was Garcia.

“Go ahead, baby girl,” Derek answered, raising his handheld higher.

“We're just about finished docking,” she warned them. “The attendants are already taking our luggage away.”

A soft _ping_ , and Ashley's face appeared in the corner of his screen. Morgan warned Garcia, “Hold on, got another call,” then he slid his thumb over the screen to bring the young blonde's face to the front. “Yeah, what is is?” he asked with less impatience than he was feeling.

“I sent your luggage with the attendants,” she told him, “but they asked about Clooney and I wasn't sure what to do. I told them he'd been sick and we'd drugged him a bit to make the trip easier on him. They said he'd have to go in quarantine and called for a vet.”

Her face looked a little uncertain, so he reassured her, “Okay, that's good. I'm glad for the vet at least. I'm hoping he won't be any worse for wear, but it's great if we can make sure he'll be okay. Did they say how long he'd have to be in quarantine for?”

“Two days after a vet assesses that he's healthy,” she answered.

“Okay,” Morgan managed a smile for her. “Thanks, Ash.”

She sent him a bright smile at the nickname and added, “Oh, I didn't know what bags to send with the attendants so I sent them all except for Reid's brown one, is that okay?”

“Perfect,” he told her. “I'll be up in a tick, you can go back to your room. Leave Reid's handheld in mine.” She nodded and he disconnected the call. Garcia's face took up the full screen again. “Okay, pretty girl,” he told her, “here's the plan. I'm going to agree to whatever the big bad guys want. I'll need you to hold the fort here in town, can you do that? Get rooms for everybody, somewhere quiet and hard to find. We'll use it as homebase. I'm going back to my suite and sending you the cute little chef back. We'll disembark as if there's nothing wrong. I'll need you to rent a handheld with pay-per-call feature, then leak the code so they can contact us. Can you do that, cupcake?”

“Sure can,” she assured him. “See you on the terra firma?”

“Yeah,” he answered and closed the connection. He turned to Hotch and Prentiss. “Well, that's that. You can join us at our little central command or rent your own place, it's up to you. I don't want to drag you guys into it.”

“Right,” Emily scoffed. “Too late for that. Anyway, it smells like trouble, and I do love trouble.”

Hotch eyed her for a moment, then turned his serious look on Morgan. “We'll go with you,” he assured him.

“Thanks,” Derek answered, and he meant it, too. “I'll contact you when we know where we're staying.” He gave them a lazy salute and left the room. Then it was up the two flight of stairs and down the hallway to his suite. Like Ashley had said, there was Reid's horrendous brown satchel one one of the dining chairs, with his handheld in the middle of the table. He sat on the other chair, waiting as the boat docked. Then it was down the escalator, and he gave the two handheld devices back before heading towards the dock's veterinary clinic and quarantine centre to make sure Clooney was fine while Garcia finished arrangements for their room. They got everything sorted out and even rented a car to drive themselves to the hotel in case whoever it was that had orchestrated all of this had ways to convince unscrupulous taxi drivers into telling them the little group's destination.

And then, the waiting game began.

* * *


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contact with the enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yeah, I had to use Frank because I like the character, even if I find the episodes that he's in rather boring._

* * *

** Chapter 28 **

They had barely made it to the hotel when Rossi contacted them to tell them he'd arrived. Morgan was told – more like ordered by Hotch's personal intense stare – to stay behind. It was safer for him to stay out of sight and let the others, whose faces hadn't yet been leaked to their pursuers, go and fetch Rossi. And so, he remained behind while Emily and Garcia went to meet with the old pirate. There was no point in keeping up the charade, so he'd dropped the Touareg outfit for his old clothes. He paced back and forth in his room, having told the others that he wanted to be left alone. But with no one around, he was left to stew in his thoughts and his worries.

Waiting. He hated waiting.

It took a few hours before the duo they'd sent out to meet up with Rossi returned with the older smuggler. Dinner was a tense, silent affair where Derek frowned and scowled down at his plate. He could sense that the others were getting nervous and uncomfortable but he couldn't even will himself to smile. As soon as he was done eating, he excused himself and returned to his room. He resumed his pacing.

The sun set and he was still all nerves. He slept little and woke often. He was hoping that they would hear from the kidnappers when daytime arrived, but no one tried to get in touch that entire day. The word _expendable_ kept echoing in his mind. If anything happened to the awkward, clumsy young genius, he would, he would – he didn't even know what he would do. The last time that he had felt this hopeless, he had crashed on a inhospitable planet and was trying to get back into space so he could get his mama and sisters away from the fighting. It was the same choking feeling, like fate had a hand clamped tight at the base of his throat.

A second day went by like this, then a third. Morgan avoided anyone who tried to get near him. Even Penelope failed in her efforts to cheer him up. And she tried, boy did she try. It was useless. Morgan felt like a lion in a cage, pacing back and forth, glaring at everybody, waiting to pounce. He didn't want to start snapping at his friends, however, so he distanced himself from them. When they went to get Clooney, the dog stayed with Ashley. Morgan didn't want to snap at him either. The fourth night since they'd arrived in Varna fell with still no word of the young doctor's whereabouts. It took a long time for Derek to fall asleep every single night since Reid's disappearance, and tonight was no exception. He slept fitfully and woke at every sound, so the moment he heard the light knock at the door around three in the morning, his eyes snapped open and he sat up. In two long strides, he was at the door and he flicked the function that would open it, revealing a surprised-looking Garcia.

“Penelope, hey!” He stepped aside so she could come in. “Any news?” His tone was hopeful and so was the look he gave the techie as he closed the door behind her. It was a bit of a silly question, seeing how she'd just knocked at his door in the middle of the night. She wouldn't have come if she didn't have damn good reasons to.

“I got a message,” she told him, already unrolling her tablet so that he could see it for himself.

“Reid?” he asked, a little louder than he meant to. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Is it about Reid?”

“It is,” she confirmed, then looked up at him. “Derek,” she cautiously began, “this is not going to be easy. Do you want to wait until morning?”

He had a rather hollow-sounding laugh. “It won't be any easier in the morning,” he told her. “Just play the damn thing.” Realizing that he was being a bit of the jerk, he apologized, “Sorry angel cake. I didn't mean to be gruff.”

“It's all right,” she replied sympathetically. “We all know you're worried sick.” She put a gentle hand on his arm. “We'll get him back, okay? We will.”

“Yeah,” he replied, because he didn't know what else to say. He licked his lip pensively, then ran a hand over his face before sighing deeply. “You had something to show me?” he reminded her.

“Yeah, here.” She plopped herself down on the bed. “I got this call in just now. Well, it's actually a recording, by the looks of it.” She touched her screen and Morgan sat beside her, eyes glued to the window that just opened on it.

“Reid!” he couldn't help exclaiming as he saw him appear on the screen. He frowned. “What's wrong with him?” he asked the tech geek sitting with him. “Why's he not moving?” It was only too true. Spencer was sitting on what appeared to be one of those generic chairs that every economy-line hotel seemed to possess on each planet that Morgan has visited. And he'd visited a _lot_ of planets. The young genius was motionless, eyes open, but staring at nothing. He didn't look around, didn't speak up, nothing. It was like he was a broken doll left to sit there.

“Good morning, Mister Morgan,” a gravely, wheezy sort of voice said. “My apologies if I've interrupted your sleep,” the mysterious man added, and the camera moved to zoom on the armchair that sat a little further from the tablet, the occupant lost in shadows. “You see, it wouldn't be possible for me to call you in daylight.” He wheezed a laugh. “This needed to be a video call so that you can see that I have indeed caught your little pet genius.” He reached with his cane and hit Reid's arm, but the young doctor didn't react. “Here is the address you can call to open further communication. End of the message.”

The screen went dark. Morgan frowned in silence, profoundly disturbed by what he'd seen. He glanced down, below the black, empty window. There was an address attached. He could feel Garcia's eyes leave the screen and focus on him. He didn't turn towards her or acknowledge her. Something was very wrong. “What are you going to do?” Garcia asked him after a long, heavy silence. “Are you going to call back?”

“Embisol,” he muttered darkly.

“The drug?” Garcia's face scrunched up in confusion. “What has it got to do with getting Reid ba–” She gasped. “You think they're giving Reid embisol transderm patches?”

Morgan pushed himself up to his feet, whispering a few curses under his breath. He ran his hands over his head, closing his eyes to keep himself calm. He stood by the window, his back to Garcia. Embisol was a nasty piece of shit. A highly addictive substance, it blocked emotions, rendering the person malleable and uncaring. It was especially popular amongst the poor, where despair festered like an open wound. With embisol, they could work and go about their lives, not feeling this crippling lack of hope from being trapped in a system that gave them no chance to escape. But they were still functional, at least. Reid was completely unresponsive. Most likely, they'd given him a double dose, if not triple

“The problem with embisol,” he told Garcia, “is the shit falls down the minute you're off of it. All the emotions you haven't felt while you were on the drug just explode. Some people have ended up so distraught, they've gone insane and some even committed suicide.”

Garcia gasped and put a hand to her mouth. “Oh my poor baby genius!” she exclaimed.

“Call them back,” he told her. “The less time that he'd under the influence, the easier it'll be for him.” He paused and scoffed. “Did I say _easier_? I mean, the least destructive it'll be.” He sighed and finally let his arms down. “Just call them back. I'll agree to whatever they want.”

“What if they ask for the Aurora?” Penelope probed gently. “Would you agree to give her away?”

“Do I have a choice?” Morgan asked her. “The Aurora is, she's all that I have, but _Reid_ , man. It's Reid. I can't just –” He threw a hand up, then ran it over his shaved head again. A sigh, and he let it drop. “I gotta help him, sweet mama. I gotta get him back.”

Garcia studied his face silently for a moment, then she nodded and turned to the screen. “I'm hailing them now,” she told him, a strange catch in her voice.

“Penelope?” he called out softly.

“Yes?” She turned to him, eyes large and moist. She was obviously trying to keep it together, as well.

“We'll get him back.” He put as much certainty in his voice as he could. “Just watch me, gorgeous.” He walked over and put his hand on her head before letting it slide down to her shoulder. “We'll get your _baby genius_ back and he'll be as good as new a'ight?” He lifted a finger to her cheek, giving it a little nudge to get her to turn her head. “A'ight?” he asked again.

“All right,” she said, a tiny, hesitant smile curving her lips a fraction.

“So hail them for me, then give me the tablet.” He sat next to her.

Garcia entered her code to initiate an encrypted call, selected the address, and gave him the reading pad. The waiting was tense. Morgan even wondered if the Fisher King, or whoever the hell he was, had gone to bed. Eventually, the call connected. The room on the other end was in near complete darkness. Morgan searched the screen desperately for signs of Reid, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. “So,” it was a different voice from the recording, “I hope that the reason for your call is so that we can find a solution to our little... dilemma.”

“What dilemma?” Morgan wanted to know. “You attack my ship, pursue me all over this goddamn rock, abduct my,” he couldn't say _lover_ , not to that man, “my friend, and you think this is a dilemma.”

“Oh, but it is,” the man on the screen assured him.

“Are you the Fisher King?” he wanted to know, changing tactics.

“No,” the man sounded amused, “I wouldn't give myself such a grandiose name. I'm Frank”

“Are you holding Doctor Reid prisoner?” There was a lengthy pause during which Morgan feared they had been disconnected. Then, a sleep-rumpled looking Reid was pushed in front of the camera. “Reid! Reid, man, are you okay?” he asked.

“Okay?” Spencer's voice seemed to come from some far away planet. “I'm okay...”

He was pulled away from the camera and Morgan had to bite down on a colourful string of curses. “What do you want?” he asked, trying to keep the despair he felt out of his voice.

“You disappoint me, Mister Morgan,” Frank told him, “I would have thought that some idea of what this is all about would have penetrated you mind by now. Yet I suppose it is possible to have a certain cunning ability in deceiving the P-reps without need of intelligence.”

“You're after my ship,” Morgan said, because it was the only reason that sounded plausible.

“Ah,” the man's voice came out as rather pleased, “so the man does possess some intelligence after all. Yes, Mister Morgan, we want the Aurora.”

“Don't you already have her?” Derek countered.

“Physically, perhaps,” Frank patiently explained, “but she's been with you all along in spirit, hasn't she?” The observation made no sense to Morgan, but he didn't have time to voice any question. Frank spoke up again. “We want the codes. It's that simple. We'll exchange the codes for your _friend_ , the good doctor.”

Morgan didn't like the way that he had said the word. It made his skin crawl to know that this perfidious individual would know any of the deeper feelings that Derek now harboured for the young doctor. “The codes aren't that easy,” he answered, trying to keep his voice level. “The Aurora only respond to my electrical imprint, voice and commands. I'm sure you've tried everything in the hacker book to get her started already.”

“We have,” Frank said agreeably. “Which is exactly why we've had to resort to these barbaric methods.”

“Did you need the embisol patches, really?” Morgan's voice was dark.

“They were only so that we could make sure of your complete cooperation,” the man replied. “Call it an insurance policy. You get the Aurora running and responsive to our commands, we remove the transderm patches.”

“What if he goes insane?” Derek wanted to know. “That shit fucks people up big time.”

“Ah,” Frank said slowly, “then I would suggest that you hurry. It's said that its effect increase exponentially the longer you keep using the drug.”

“Okay, okay,” Morgan raised his hands in surrender. “Just tell me where to go and I'll set her up for you. I can only start her up again manually.”

“I'll send you coordinates where we can meet.” Frank's gaze turned hard. “Come alone and we'll take you to the Aurora.”

Morgan realized that they didn't know that the ship had sent them her exact coordinates. Hadn't they even thought to check for a signal coming from the ship? That was odd. He would have been monitoring all communication to and from the ship, if it were him. It could play in Morgan's favour, however. He just had to exploit this little hole in the Fisher King's plans. There was just no way that he would leave either his boyfriend or his ship in their hands, not if he could help it. “I'll meet you anywhere you want,” he told Frank. “Just don't hurt him.”

“We'll be waiting. Place and time here enclosed.” There was a soft sound from the tablet and Morgan glanced at the coordinates. A tap on the screen and it sent to his own device. “Remember,” the man added, rather unnecessarily where the smuggler was concerned, “come alone.”

“Yeah, I got it,” Morgan assured him and he disconnected the call. He looked down at his handheld and sent Rossi a short text message.

Garcia looked at him in silence as he got up and started rifling through the room for something non-electronic to write with. “What are you going to do?” she finally asked him, her tone worried. He probably looked like a madman right now.

“Do I have a choice?” he asked her, then stopped short in the middle of the room and turned towards her. She frowned questioningly at him. He tapped his ear twice, put a finger to his lips then pointed to the reading pad. There were ways to slip a short code in meet-up coordinate files that would turn on the microphone or camera. The tablet was facing away from him, but he wouldn't take a chance with the microphone. “I gotta go,” he quickly added. “Reid's in trouble; I just can't leave him like this.” He suddenly thought of something. He gestured to Garcia, first pretending to be scribbling with an invisible tablet pen, then he pointed to his eye and moved as if he were putting on some make up. “The meeting isn't for some time,” he said out loud. It was a blatant lie, but if all worked like he hoped it would, then it was worth it. He watched her go through her tablet carry-bag and finally produce a kohl pen. Morgan was lucky that she had what she called _emergency cosmetics_ in every single bag she owned. He scribbled on his hand rapidly and handed her the pen back. “You should go back to your room. Get an hour of sleep or so. Meet me here in about two hours with the others.”

“Okay,” Garcia said slowly, obviously not liking this. “Two hours. If you're not here, Derek Morgan, I swear to god I'll kick your ass the next time I see you.”

He laughed, though it sounded a little hollow. “Understood,” he told her with a small, tired smile. “Now you be good and go nap for a bit. I'll need your head for this.”

“Yeah,” Garcia said, “I'm going.” She got up, grabbed her things and went over to him. Standing on her tiptoes, she placed a kiss on his cheek. “Later.”

“Later,” he replied automatically, watching as she made her way out of his room. The minute the door closed, he glanced at his hand. This would do. He was as ready as he would ever be. It was likely he was going to die for this stunt, but he couldn't just accept the trade, not if he could help it. He was used to coming up on top, and that's what he was going to go for. It was likely that the Fisher King and his little soldiers had no intention of letting either he or Reid live anyway, so he had to make this work.

He quickly changed out of his sleepwear and got into his clothes. He checked both guns and slid them into their respective holsters. They were probably going to get confiscated the moment he met up with the stupid goons, but it would be kind of idiotic to go unarmed. That done, he went to the door and turned on the camera that filmed the hallway. The coast seemed to be clear, so he flicked his finger over the panel at the side and the door slid open. He looked up and down the corridor and, finding no one, he quickly made his way to the front of the building. A few seats had been set up to make a sort of halfhearted lobby near the front door, and Morgan's spirits lifted a tiny bit when he spotted a lone figure on one of the benches, one arm extended over the back of it and one leg loosely folded over the other. “Rossi,” he greeted.

“You're an idiot, you know that?” the older smuggler asked him.

“Rossi,” Morgan repeated, but this time there was a tired warning in his tone. “Now, c'mon, man.”

“A perfect idiot,” Rossi continued, getting up to his feet. “Now I've known you a while, and I'd like to think you'll listen to me when I ask you not to do this.”

“I don't have another choice,” Derek said. He raised his hands in a gesture of peace. “They have Reid. I'm going.”

Rossi sighed. “Well,” he began, hiding a little smile on the off chance that a camera somewhere was filming them. Morgan caught the small twitch of his lips, though. “If your decision's made,” the older smuggler went on, “I can't stop you. But you're still an idiot.”

“Yeah,” Derek replied, “I probably am.” He walked past Rossi, rubbing his hands together to erase the kohl.

_Aurora – dpt 1hr. PG knows._

* * *


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Aurora again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yes, it's supposed to end abruptly like this._

* * *

** Chapter 29 **

Morgan didn't have a car, but that was all right. He was done playing hide and seek with these bastards. He strode out of the hotel and called a cab over, using the handheld from the hotel. One was sent out immediately, but it took sometime for it to arrive. As he waited, the smuggler paced impatiently in front of the building. He felt that at any moment one of his friends would walk outside and force him back in, try to talk him out of it, attempt to reason with him. But Morgan was through planning and reasoning. He wanted to do something, wanted his boyfriend back. Who knew how a mind like his would react to the enbisol once the transderm patch was removed. He had to hurry before the effects got too intense for him to be able to bounce back from this. How long had it been since Reid disappeared? A week? Had he been drugged this entire time?

There was a feeling that Morgan hated more than anything: feeling powerless. And right now? He felt so damn useless, he might as well have been an infant with a bib and a pacifier. He cursed under his breath and kicked a nonexistent rock from under his foot. Where was that damn taxi anyway? Back and forth, back and forth, check time, repeat. He knew that it was useless to get this irritated; he was only wasting his energies at the moment. He was going to need all the strength that he possessed to make sure that he and Reid both got through this and came out as sane as they possibly could. Spencer would need someone to anchor him while he went through withdrawal and Morgan would have to stay level-headed throughout all of his post-embisol freakout.

Derek stopped pacing and took a deep, deep breath in, then slowly let it go, forcing his muscles to relax, one by one. He repeated the process three more times before the taxi finally slid in front of him. A click, and the door to the backseat opened. He couldn't see the driver, but when he got seated, the woman's face appeared on the screen. “Enter the coordinates where you need to go through the panel provided for that effect,” she explained cheerfully. It helped Morgan become a little less tense. He wirelessly connected to the taxi panel with his handheld and transferred the address, adding a little smile that he hoped was friendly as he glanced at the camera. “Got it,” the taxi driver replied and her smile widened. “Now sit back, relax and enjoy your ride!”

Her mellow disposition helped him tremendously. He was on his way to meet people from what seemed like a huge criminal organization that had hijacked and attacked his ship, knocked him out of the skies (well, space, technically speaking), kidnapped his boyfriend, held both boyfriend and ship for ransom and had made clear they weren't above murder if need be. He definitely needed to stay calm and the woman's smile, coupled with an old Créole song he could just about make out through the compartment divide between the front and back of the taxi, helped him. He leaned back against his seat and waited, listening to the driver and wondering how to go about saving the two things that he valued the most at the moment.

An entirely too short time later, the taxi slid to a stop and his driver's voice came out of the speakers, “And here you are, gentleman! The address you've provided. Make sure you take with you any bag, umbrella, handheld or package that you might have taken aboard. Thank you very much for using our services. Our fee will be added to the charge carried by your handheld and will be payable on your check out from the hotel. Please enjoy your stay in Varna and have a nice evening.”

The door opened and Morgan heaved himself to his feet, immediately looking around, not wanting to let anyone get the drop on him. But the street was deserted. As well it should be as it was nearing four am by this point. The meet-up had been set up at a rather large, but deserted intersection. You could see vehicles come and go from a fair distance, and there weren't any building blocking the view on the sidewalks. It was a great vantage point and Morgan had to mentally tip his hat to whoever had decided to meet here. He glanced at his handheld. Another five minutes until their meeting time.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and started pacing, but it wasn't the rapid, anxious walk that he had done earlier. He forced himself to look calm, at least outwardly. He did feel a lot more level-headed than before and he had to control himself now. No doubt that he'd been spied on all the way from the hotel, and he'd already shown he was worried, now he needed to be patient.

He had to get Reid back. He had to get him off of those horrible patches, and the young man would have enough emotional trauma to deal with already without adding a nerve-wrecked boyfriend into the mix. He had to think of Reid. A hummingbird type one-seater ship landed on the street somewhere to his left and he paused to look at it, but it zipped past him, turned the corner and disappeared. The streets were silent once more. Morgan started walking up and down the block once more.

He heard a vehicle approach, the hoverdrive engaged. He stopped walking and turned towards the direction of the sound, noticing the taxi sign above the car first and foremost. He waited patiently as it slid next to him, slowing to a stop. The passenger door opened and a young man he had never seen leaned towards him. “Hop in,” he said. “We've got some way to go, and it'll be faster by taxi.”

“Are you sure you got the right guy?” the smuggler asked. Who knew how many shady deals went on in this spot.

“Derek Morgan?” the man confirmed. “I got a 3D of you, man. I know you're the guy. Come on.”

With a sigh, Morgan slid into the passenger seat next to him. “All set and ready?” the taxi driver asked, his face appearing on the screen in front of them.

“We're ready,” the man with him answered and the door closed just as the car sped forward.

“Where are we going?” Derek asked. “And who are you?”

“I'm Travis,” the young man answered, “but it doesn't really matter. You're not likely to see me again. I'm only trying to get my hands on some medic equipment, man. So I was told I had to get you to this place and then I'm gonna get what I need to finish fixin' my brother up. Anyway, it's not really a good thing to discuss business in front of people.” He indicated the screen with his head, clearly meaning the driver.

Morgan fell silent after that. There was no point in talking if the guy with him wasn't going to give him anything good to go on. Anyway, he didn't seemed all that implicated in this mess, and it was likely that he simply didn't have the answers that Morgan sought. He stared out at the window, but the taxi driver had set up a film to play on the windows so stare as he might, he couldn't see well enough to know where they were going. Anyway, it wasn't like he knew Varna.

They drove for quite some time and the town had been left behind some time before the taxi finally slowed down. Morgan and his mysterious companion got off. The vehicle slid away and they were left standing on the curb for a moment before another one arrived, going in the other direction. The young man with him hailed it, but the car was already slowing down and out came a small woman with short blond hair. His companion crossed the street and went around to the other side of the cab at a jog. Morgan thought he saw a card exchange hands between Travis and the new arrival, but then the man got into the car and the taxi slid away, leaving Morgan to wonder who this whole charade was for. If they were trying to be discreet, they weren't being very good at it. The young woman crossed the street and looked up at him, detailing him silently for a moment. Morgan stared back. She was a petite woman with short blond hair, She was sloppily dressed and although she couldn't be more than twenty-five, it seemed as if she had definitely seen better days. Her eyes were bruised and her gaze unnervingly empty. Morgan was ready to bet she had an embisol transderm somewhere on her. He remembered the man in the previous car and didn't ask for her name. He was probably not likely to see her again either.

After an entirely too long moment, she turned and started down the street, saying, “Walk with me.” Morgan followed her for a couple of minutes, but then she slowed down and made sure to walk beside him. “Someone's going to pick us up,” she added after a moment, pulling at her sleeves. She looked like she'd seen the bottom of a bottle more often that was perhaps accepted in a social setting. She walked in silence for some time, then out of the blue, she asked, “You really like that little bitch enough to give up your ship?”

Morgan's temper flared at the insult to his boyfriend, but he held it in check. She was probably testing him for some reason. He was certain the entire organization working against him knew Reid was male and there had to be a reason why they were this dismissive about him in front of Morgan. “I think a human life is more important than a ship,” he answered carefully. “So no matter what my opinion on Doctor Reid is, yeah, I'd give up my ship to make sure he's all right.”

She eyed him for a moment, then snorted derisively. “I hate bleeding hearts like you,” she informed him. Morgan heard a car approach, then slow down behind them. He turned, just as she confirmed, “There's our lift. Get in.” The vehicle was a black, nondescript rental car. The back door slid open and Morgan got in, the woman behind him, pushing impatiently at him. Once he was seated, she slid the door closed and sat as far from him as she could.

The man at the wheel turned towards them. He was heavyset and pale, with cropped copper-coloured hair. “Welcome aboard,” he greeted cheerfully. “If you're all set up, we've got ourselves a bit of a drive, today.” Just for that fake friendliness, Morgan felt like punching him in his stupid face. He had better mastery over himself than to let that wishful thinking show, but instead opted to tighten his seat-belt and stare out of the window. Realizing that he wasn't going to get anything more out of his charge, the driver turned toward the front and drove them in silence.

This time, they drove for a long, long time. The sun came up over the horizon and started climbing up in the sky. Morgan's car-mates were silent, although their driver did try to start a conversation with Derek. For a member of some nefarious gang of criminals, he seemed to be far too friendly. The one time that Derek might have answered him (the man had asked about the Aurora, calling it a beautiful piece of work), the woman with them told him to “Shut it,” which told the smuggler that they most likely had subjects that they wouldn't be able to talk about. He was ready to bet that it would be all of the questions that he would like answered, such as who was the Fisher King, why he was interested in Morgan's ship enough to be willing to kill for it and more importantly, where they were holding Reid.

By the sun, it was nearing noon when they finally slowed and turned off of the road into a semi-arid scenery of red rocks and scruffy bushes, with large outcrops of tall cliffs and hard rock faces here and there. The way was bumpy and Morgan had no idea how the driver could orient himself in this empty place. He was probably reading off of his instruments, because every rock looked about the same and so did every bush and every gnarled, twisted little tree. They drove through the rough terrain for another hour or so and then, finally, came to a stop by a rocky hill. The car settled and the doors slid open. The blonde woman looked significantly at him, so Morgan got out of the car, putting a hand above his eyes to protect them from the sun. He stared at the small hill, waiting for the other two occupants of the vehicle to get out as well. While he scrutinized the rocks out of which the upward little outcrop was made, he thought he could detect a blend-in cloak. His ship was most likely underneath. Not bad, for a bunch of crooks. Now, granted he was driven straight to their destination, he had to delay these clowns for about an hour.

He looked around, slowly turning on himself. They had chosen the spot well. It would be exceedingly hard to surprise anyone in this vast, mostly flat landscape. They would be able to see cars and ships well before either were in range of fire. The others would have a hard time of this, if it came to a battle.

The car doors finally slid shut and the three of them stood before the rocky pile like minions in front of an ancient deity. The driver, ever so genial, asked, “What do you think we should say, hm? How about, _Open, sesame?_ ” He laughed, a sound that grated against Morgan's nerves, big time. But then, finally, the cloak he'd noticed lifted some and there was the Aurora, just as he remembered her, looking not very worse for wear in spite of the crash. The door slid open on silent tracks, something that Derek felt inordinately proud of. He took real good care of her, and he thought it definitely showed.

He remembered Garcia asking him a few hours prior, “Would you agree to give her away?” and in his heart, Morgan answered, “No, not in a million years.”

Someone hopped out of the ship and the smuggler had to repress a cringe. Someone had got inside of _his_ ship, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. A pause where the man turned around and seized someone else, pulling that new person roughly to the front, showing him to Morgan. Not that he really needed to. The moment the sun shone on that honey-brown curly hair, Derek knew who it was. His hands curled into fists. “Okay, man,” he called out, “you don't need to manhandle him. I ain't trying no trick.”

Frank's voice was pleasant. “Again, just our little insurance policy. Now, gentlemen,” a pause where he nodded to the tired-looking woman, “and you, fair lady, pardon my poor manners.” One hand still holding Reid tightly, he motioned towards the ship, “Let me invite you all inside for a little ride, hm?”

“Guests first,” the woman said, shoving Morgan forward, even though she barely reached his underarms in height.

“Wait,” Morgan said, holding his position. “Wait,” he repeated, “you have your insurance policy. Where's mine? How do I know you'll keep your word and release Doctor Reid if I unlock the Aurora for you and give you the master code?”

Frank pushed Reid into the hands of the redhead driver, and the man started pulling him inside of the Aurora. Maybe the younger man was guessing what Morgan was trying to do, or maybe it was just Derek's wishful thinking, but he seemed to be tripping over his own feet with every step. The woman followed after them. Frank stopped in front of him and the smuggler drew his attention back to the conversation at hand. “You don't,” Frank told him. “You see, that's what's so beautiful about this. You just don't know. Ah, will our virile young would-be knight be able to rescue the damsel in distress? What an intrigue, what an adventure!” He smiled pleasantly. “You can agree to come aboard and risk it, with the chance of saving both of your skins, or you could not risk anything at all and turn around now. But if Doctor Reid isn't incentive enough to make you do it, maybe the wonderful, young Miss Penelope Garcia would do?” He noticed Morgan's frown and his smile widened. “Ah, yes, we do know all about your little ragtag group of followers. Dancing girls, really?” He tsk'ed. “What an entourage. You should pick your friends a little better.”

“They've got nothing to do with this,” Morgan growled. “They were just travelling with us up to Varna. I barely know them at all.”

“That's not what your logs say,” Frank said pleasantly. “They show a long, sustained friendship with Miss Garcia – I do hope that it is friendship and not that the good doctor has had competition this entire time, really. Ah, life would have been much kinder to me if I'd been born with your looks.”

“Garcia's my friend,” Morgan conceded, “but she doesn't know much about our current affair. She's just received a job offer that required her to travel to Varna. I didn't know the other two girls before this trip.”

“Ah,” Frank said regretfully, “you've already shown yourself to be a liar. Why should I trust you now?”

“Come on, man,” Derek exclaimed, “you've been threatening to kidnap my friends. Of course, I'm going to try and protect them! I care about them, I don't want them to end up with embisol transderm patches, walking around like living zombies like what's happening with Reid!”

“Reid, ah, so cold, so distant!” Frank mocked. “I thought the two of you are married now? Yes, I have done my homework, as you can see. Now, are we going to stand here like two fools and argue until nightfall, or are you going to give me what you've come all this way for?” He motioned to the ship and Morgan saw no choice but to go aboard. He let his hand trail over the walls as he made his slow way to the control room. There had to be a way, there had to be! He wasn't going to tell his precious Aurora goodbye, not now, not after all of this time. The closer he got to the control deck, the more his heart sank.

When the door slid open, there were the other three, Reid's gaze still vague and unfocused. Morgan kept his eyes on him as he slowly enunciated, “Aurora, disengage emergency protocol.” The ambient light changed intensity and the main computer gave a cheerful series of beeps. Morgan slowly walked over the main panel. He pressed a few options, letting Frank watch him. He was simply confirming the other occupants as rightful passengers. More for his sake than because he needed to say it out loud, he tapped the functions and slowly read along, “Changing the master passcode to one, two, three, four, five, six. This is a temporary passcode which will be changed during the next twenty-four hours.” Then he straightened and turned to Frank. “Satisfied?”

Frank studied him, then nodded to the redhead.

The woman blanched, her tired, worn-out eyes growing large in sudden outrage. She was probably in need of another transderm patch. “You're letting them walk?!” She cried out. “They'll come after us! You have to kill them! No one will find them in this wilderness!”

But already the redhead, under Morgan's careful gaze, started taking off the patches. One came off and Reid jerked and blinked. Another and his face scrunched up. He lifted his hands to his hair. A third came off, and he collapsed like a rag doll inadvertently dropped onto the floor. The moment the transderm came off, he started howling and screaming. Morgan was at his side in an instant. “Shh, it's okay, baby,” he whispered, “I got you. I got you now.”

“Kill them!” the blond woman insisted, stomping her foot, screeching loudly to be heard over the heart-wrenching howls coming from the young doctor.

“Shh, come on, now,” Morgan kept trying to soothe his boyfriend, petting his back gently, whispering little encouragements, “I'm here, all right? Everything's all right.” And still Reid screamed and screamed. Morgan didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. He didn't know what this much embisol would do to a person. He didn't know what else to do, couldn't think of anything. He rubbed his back, murmuring softly, willing him to calm down before they both ended up dead.

“It's too dangerous,” the woman insisted, you have to –”

* * *


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aurora

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I had been planning for this since Octobre. And here we are._

* * *

** Chapter 30 **

Total silence and absolute blackness. It was so sudden, it seemed like something had suddenly fallen on top of them. It wasn't dark, no. Dark would be something. If it were dark, Derek would be able to see some things, some grey areas. Weak light, perhaps, the type that takes time for your eyes to adjust to. Indistinct shapes in the distance. A bit of movement. No, this was blackness. Stare as he might, he could see absolutely nothing.

Sight wasn't the only thing that had disappeared. There was not a sound to be heard. No wind, no animal, no human either. He couldn't even hear himself breathe. He couldn't hear his own heartbeat either. How strange that he used to hear his body pulse and live everyday and had never even noticed. Speaking of his body, he couldn't feel anything. He tried to reach for something to touch but he couldn't feel the pull of muscles as he extended his arm out. Wait, was he extending his arm out? He thought he was. He'd never had to think about how he would go about doing something this simple before. But now he simply couldn't remember how to. Did he have to contract his biceps, or was it the opposite? It used to come so naturally, and now it was like the knowledge had fled his mind entirely.

He couldn't see, couldn't hear and couldn't feel, so he had no way of knowing if he was even moving. Did he even have a body to move? Panic gripped him. Had he died? Was this what being dead truly was? Just... existing, alone in this absence of everything? Continue to be for time and time indefinite, just being there, in this place. Did time even exist here? He couldn't tell. There was nothing, absolutely nothing.

No, wait.

There was something. He wasn't quite sure how he knew. He couldn't see it, or hear it. He couldn't feel it physically, but he could _sense_ it. Fear. Fear that wasn't from inside him. He thought he could sort of feel it from somewhere to his right. Was right even a direction in this place? Were there directions at all? It just felt stronger in one... area of his self, but projecting onto it rather than inside. He forced himself to calm down, forced his thoughts to slow down. He could remember using breaths to keep himself calm, back when he had a body, but he didn't seem to have one here. Still, he pretended to intake some air and slowly counted up to three. Then he pretended to let the air out and repeated the not-movement. Slowly, his mind stopped tripping all over itself in panic. And then, he could feel it. There. There was someone else with him. Someone he knew. He tried to put a name to that amorphic sentient being with him. He'd never realized before how much human beings rely on physical sight to recognize someone. And sounds, such as the tone of their voice. Touch, perhaps. But he had no way to know who was with him. He only knew that it was someone that he knew, someone that he cared for. And that person was terrified. He tried to place a name, a face, a memory onto that presence. He knew that mind, knew the person that felt like this when he lay next to him, whispering softly in the deepest part of the night, breaths mingling, skin soft against his, eyelashes fluttering against his cheek...

_Reid._

He couldn't see, but his thoughts brought up visual memories anyway. Reid, eyes wide, looking at him from across the Red Lounge dance floor. Reid sitting in the cockpit of the Aurora, curled up onto the copilot's seat, reading from his ancient tablet. Reid opening the door to his room at Garcia's theatre, hair sticking up all around his head, eyes not quite open. Reid on his knees trying to look up at him, blushing furiously. Reid on his side, eyes closed in sleep, morning light shining in from the porthole above him. Reid, Reid, Reid.

Reid who was panicking right now. Morgan didn't know _how_ he knew since he couldn't see, hear or feel anything. He just knew. The younger man's fear, grief and panic pulsated like a living thing next to him, more real than anything he'd felt in this place so far. And he wondered, if he could feel Reid's fears, could the young doctor feel him, too? If so, then there had to be a way for Morgan to calm him down. He wasn't sure if they really should be calm. After all, he had no idea of where they were or how they got there, or even if this was a place at all. All he knew, however, was that his lover was suffering, and that he didn't want him to be this upset. He tried to project calm at him. _Shh,_ he thought as loudly as he could, _it's okay, baby. I've got you. I've got you now._ He didn't know what else to do, so he did it again. _S'okay, I'm here, baby. I'm here. I've got you._ It turned into a slow litany, a sort of prayer for Reid to quiet down, to stop hurting so much. _It's all right. You're safe, baby, you're safe. It's okay._

The younger man was still panicking, though. Morgan didn't know if the transderm patches they'd given him would last into the afterlife, but if it did, it would take a long, long time for Reid to be all right again. So he'd just have to send him all of his thoughts, project calm and reassurance until the young doctor stopped panicking. Did time exist in this place? Actually, did _space_ exist here? And, pretending for a moment that this wasn't some strange afterlife and that they were both very much alive, was he in Reid's mind? Or was Reid in his? It felt like the young doctor's panic was all around him now, coming at him from every direction at once, if there was such a thing as _direction_ in here.

Time stretched, expanded and collapsed. It seemed like he'd been doing this for a minute, a year, or maybe his entire life. There was no way of telling, nothing by which to measure it. He'd never realized before how just the simple act of breathing could help one give a good estimate of the passage of time. Or heartbeats. Heartbeats helped, too. The change in luminosity in a room or sifting in through the windows.

Slowly, the fear that had been surrounding him quieted. He noticed that it wasn't quite so loud. Wait, could it be loud if you couldn't hear it to begin with? It wasn't so overwhelming, in any case. _There ya go,_ he thought at Reid soothingly, _there ya go, baby. It's me. I'm here. I'm right here. I've got you._ More time passed. Between moments of fear and confusion, he could feel Reid calm down. Distress, fear, attentive waiting period, confusion, fear again. At least it wasn't the constant terror of earlier. _I'm here,_ he kept sending at him, _you're safe. You're with me now. You're safe. Everything's all right. I've got you._

A minute, a day, a year. There was a pause. Confusion. A quiet brush back, asking for confirmation. Derek would have jumped out of his skin if he were in his body. He'd been so used to the panic that the sudden change in pace destabilized him, and he had to remember what he'd been doing past the constant flow of soothing words thought at his boyfriend. Ah, that was it. Soothing Reid. He tried to convey assurance, thinking, _Yeah, it's me._ He sent joy at him, wishing he could pull him into a crushing hug, just hold him close and kiss his temple, anything but send thoughts and hope Reid understood him. He felt recognition and if he could feel his body right then, he'd smile. Apparently the younger man could understand him just fine.

Another pause, then a little brush back. Affection, happiness. Derek projected at him the relief that he felt, his own joy at being with him, but with a note of caution. He wanted to show Reid their surroundings and tell him how things weren't exactly perfect right now, and that he had no clue where they were. Only, he had no idea how to do that without arms to point or motion, and without vocal chords and words to explain. This was so weird, communicating like this, with just feelings, without words or glances. Reid projected worry, suddenly. Apprehension.

Another wave of cautious reassurance sent his way and Morgan switched his attention back to their surroundings. It was still pitch black and silent. A vast, empty field of darkness. Empty? Not quite. There was another presence with them, one that also felt familiar, more-so even than Reid. This was someone he had known for years. A decade at least. It felt as familiar as his own mind felt. Who was it? He felt a brush against his mind from Spencer. Something like worry and caution. Obviously, the younger man didn't know this person as well as Morgan did, or he'd feel joy and welcome rather than fear. And yet, when Derek tried to put a face on the presence, he could think of none that fit. He wasn't this familiar with that many people.

Who had he known for over a decade? His mother and two sisters, obviously, but ten years ago, he'd been jumped forward in time. All of his old relations had been left behind, and only a few new ones really stuck around. Rossi was one, but this didn't feel like the old crook. Garcia was another old friend, but this presence was much more muted than the expressive hacker could ever even hope to manage. Who else. There was no one, really. Prentiss he'd met a while ago, but it wasn't a full ten years and this didn't feel like her at all either.

He racked his brain, trying to think of every single person he could consider himself close to for a long time, every one he'd cherished, anything he'd felt a connection to.

... Anything?

The vocabulary slip was unintentional, but the moment that he noticed it, the Aurora came to mind. He'd piloted the Aurora a long time now, and she was his constant companion. He lived in his ship, and so she was literally with him every instant of his life, save perhaps his time spent at the Red Lounge or in his mother's apartment. She was the one he spent the most time with and felt more familiar than anything other than his mother's Earth cooking. She felt like home, like a friend, like peace and security.

She also happened to be with them.

Now, by all account, it made no sense. Pilots might assign their vessel a certain personality, a nickname, refer to them as a girlfriend or spouse, but spaceships were inanimate objects. They did not have actual thoughts and feelings, they didn't have a presence that one could feel. They were machines of metal and wires, they didn't have the conscious self-awareness that humans and animals did. And so the Aurora had no business standing (or sitting or kneeling or whatever the hell they were doing) with them in the darkness of Morgan's or Reid's or anyone's mind.

Yet there she was.

His surprise must have broadcasted all around, because he felt Reid's questioning mental tug and felt Aurora's tentative greeting at the same time. He sent reassurance at his boyfriend, then a tentative sense of welcome to Aurora. The name had never felt so right. She was Aurora, awoken at last. Or maybe she had been awake this entire time. Morgan thought of the communication she'd had with Garcia, and a few more instances of odd coincidences or just weird things that had happened through the years.

Yes, maybe Aurora had never really been asleep at all.

The welcome he sent at her seemed to please her. It was an odd feeling. Something more exuberant than he would have expected in a human being, but this was a ship. Maybe they felt things differently.

He was already taking the fact that his ship was sentient in stride, wasn't he?

She sent a questioning thought at him about Reid. He wasn't sure how he knew what she was asking or who it was about, but he just knew, as surely as he knew his name. She wanted to know if he was okay now. He turned his attention to the younger man, who tentatively answered in the positive. Then he asked a question, and Morgan felt it clearly. He was asking who Aurora was, so Derek projected the idea of the ship at him, something that apparently amused the third interlocutor in this strange little conversation. He wasn't sure what had amused her, however, so he asked her for confirmation. Her amusement grew and she answered in both the negative and the positive. What did that mean? She was and she wasn't the ship?

His confusion only seemed to amuse her more and more, but she didn't explain until he sent the question directly at her. Her answer was that the ship was her home, her physical body and her anchor in the other reality – or maybe she meant dimension, Morgan suddenly realized – but she herself was older than the ship.

Just when he thought he couldn't get anymore surprised, Spencer asked her something that he hadn't thought of. He wanted to know if this black emptiness was her own world – it was – and if this was how she broke the laws of physics. She didn't seem to understand this last question. Morgan specified that her speed was what he meant, and her confusion, which was also extremely intense, much more so than in humans, changed to sudden understanding. Her explanation was that the world Morgan and Reid lived in was just too vast and that getting around simply took far too long. So yes, when Derek started her other engine, which she rightfully took for him wanting to go faster, she weaved in and out of the physical realm.

When Spencer asked her why she had never attempted communication with Derek, she seemed apologetic, but sent to them how she didn't know how to communicate with humans. Even the conversation that they were having now, though unusual for the two humans, she only managed because of the long years that she had spent by Morgan's side, tuned in to his thoughts, his emotions. She had to learn how they talked, and she wasn't even certain that she managed to make herself understood. Both men immediately sent reassurance at her, that yes, she was doing just fine. The joy that radiated out of her would have made Morgan smile if he had a body with which to smile.

Reid's mind was buzzing with curiosity, and Derek anticipated that the younger man probably had a billion questions to ask. Hell, Morgan himself had quite a few, and he wasn't as intellectually driven as the young doctor. The first one was about the previous occupants of the ship. After all, he had found her abandoned on an inhospitable planet, in the middle of a literal war zone. Her answer was that there never had been any. She didn't even know that it was a mode of transportation until Morgan had climbed on board. She seemed to have commandeered it fresh out of the factory. That made Derek feel insanely better, as he'd been asking himself whether he'd condemned some poor sap to die on the red planet ever since he'd found her. The sweep for biological life had helped him take the decision to use the ship, but the past ten years, there had been a small sliver of doubt always at the back of his mind. The relief that he felt now was indescribable.

He felt a sympathetic brush against him from his lover and he sent fierce love back. Aurora seemed curious about this, so he tried to relate what had happened so far since the crash in whatever way he could think of, but she soon stopped him. She knew. She'd been there with them, though not at all times, as she went back and forth between wherever they camped each day and the ship. She was curious about the feeling itself. Reid asked her whether others like her paired and mated like humans did, but her answer surprised them both. She'd only met two others like her in a long, long existence that their minds had trouble truly grasping. And no, they did not mate. They came of other and returned to other. Or this was as close as Derek could put what she thought at them into words. So they seemed to transform, like a succession of lives, each completely different from the last. He'd liken it to insects' long string of physical bodies, but even insects required mating to get the cycle started. But Aurora was different, it seemed.

Catching on to Morgan's train of thought – it was hard not to when everything seemed broadcast to all three – Reid asked Aurora if her kind were immortal. She didn't understand what he meant, so he changed his question to whether or not they died. She didn't understand the concept of death, although they spent quite some time trying to explain it to her. They finally decided that they probably didn't die at all. All of this talk of death and not moving and never being around again had upset her terribly and they spent more time still calming her down and promising not to die anytime soon. Morgan tried to hide his doubt on the matter, but he didn't feel entirely successful. Still, they were, he reminded them, in an extremely hazardous situation.

All of their thoughts finally returned to the situation at hand. Morgan wanted to know how much time had been going by while they were in this strange place, and Aurora's reply was that technically no time had passed, not unless she went back in a different point in time. This brought Derek much relief, which he shared with both her and Reid. Another thing going for them was the fact that their enemies had felt so overconfident that they hadn't taken his guns. And they didn't know about Aurora, though what she could do in the physical realm was limited. Also, if Rossi had followed Morgan's message, he'd waited an hour at the hotel, then got the others and he was getting everybody right to the Aurora's last coordinates.

It meant a battle was imminent, but for the first time since Reid's kidnapping a week prior, Morgan felt confident that they could come out on top. A bit of planning, and he gave Aurora the okay to return them to the physical plane.

* * *


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle on land.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I am so, so sorry for the end of this chapter. Well, not really, I'm not. }XD_

* * *

** Chapter 31 **

“– kill them or they'll come after us!” The blond woman stomped her foot. “Why honour the exchange at all? They're under our power so we can do what we want! Why'd he stop screaming?” She turned to Morgan and Reid, instantly suspicious.

Which was why, when Morgan drew his gun and fired, she managed to duck and get a bullet in the shoulder rather than straight through the heart. The smuggler felt Reid draw the gun at his ankle and sit up, immediately firing at the redhead and hitting him squarely in the chest. The man went down. Frank's face went from pleasant to irritated, and he quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. A bullet from Morgan's gun ricocheted off of the door just as he saw the woman draw a weapon. He turned quickly, but Reid was quicker and got her right in the middle of the forehead.

Morgan crawled over to the redhead and got his few weapons from him, then checked for a pulse. He didn't find one. After a moment, Reid did the same with the woman and got her gun from her. When Derek glanced at him, the young doctor shook his head, indicating that the girl was dead. She looked so young like this, eyes closed and lips slightly parted. But there was little time to regret the loss of life. Frank had left, and was most likely alerting the rest of his group of ill-intended people.

The two young men got to their feet and headed to the door. They stood on either side of it, in case Frank or another one of his little band of thieves was behind it, guns at the ready. With a nod from Spencer, Derek slid his finger over the panel that commanded the functions of the door, which slid open silently, revealing an empty hallway. They moved slowly, Morgan going first. They each had two guns now, but Morgan kept one holstered, freeing his left hand to open doors one by one as they passed them, just to make sure no one would surprise them from behind. Morgan's cabin was empty, as was the first guest one. In order to reach the other side of the ship, where the second guest cabin, the hold and the exercise room were situated, they had to pass through the lounge, across the open exterior door.

With much motioning and pointing, Morgan indicated to the young doctor that he wanted to go to the other side to make sure the ship was truly, completely empty, but that they'd have to watch for the main door. This, he gestured, would be Reid's job. He had to keep his eyes on that door, guns at the ready, while the smuggler checked the rest of his ship. With a nod from the younger man, Derek took a step back and let him take position so as to keep the door in his line of sight and fire. Once Reid was ready, Morgan took a deep breath, let it out, then took off at a run through the open space towards the hallway on the other side of the kitchen and lounge area. Two shots were fired at him and missed, and Spencer retaliated with a shot of his own. Then Morgan was across and he leaned back against the wall and let out a relieved sigh. He'd made it this far.

He quickly checked the other guest cabin and sports room, then the hidden compartment for contraband goods that he often carried, just to be on the safe side. Everywhere was empty, and he returned to the main area, stopping just inside of the hallway. He looked questioningly at Reid, who indicated all was good, then he motioned towards the exterior door. Thanks to the shot fired, they knew that there was at least one person in range, so they would have to proceed cautiously. Morgan pointed to the door, pushed his hand downwards twice, palm facing down to indicate they'd have to move slowly, then held up three fingers. He counted down slowly, and when he was at zero, they both started towards the door, keeping close to the walls, step after slow step. When they were on either side of it, there was another countdown from the smuggler and then they both twisted to look outside, guns at the ready.

Only to be faced by about two dozen men and women, weapons similarly drawn and pointed at them.

Frank was at the front of the group, and he took a step forward. “So close,” he said pleasantly, “and yet so very far. It was a wonderful attempt, and I am so sorry to put an end to it.” He raised his free hand, palm up. “I will have your weapons now, gentleman.”

Suddenly, there was a noise and murmur at the back of the group. Frank half turned, though he still kept a watchful eye on the two. After a moment, they could hear the sound of motors, and whoever it was, they were getting closer, judging by the sound. A gunshot, and then the group suddenly reacted. “Enemy!” some cried. “Enemy sighted! At arms, at arms!”

Already some people were realigning themselves and aiming their gun at the new arrivals. Two cars came barrelling down, and in the closest one, Morgan could see his old partner, sitting on the window frame, shaded goggles on his eyes, shooting like one of the mythological cowboys of old. On the other side, Jordan was doing the same and in the other car, there were Hotch and Prentiss, shooting with practised ease. The two others were likely at the wheels. The cars drove straight through the ranks of the would-be kidnappers (as Aurora was clearly sentient, Morgan couldn't see them as anything else). Amidst the confusion, Morgan stepped forward and knocked the gun out of Frank's hand. As the man was turning back towards them, he got a solid punch in the jaw for his role in this mad little adventure.

But instead of pushing forward, guns blazing, Morgan quickly stepped back into the ship, pulling his boyfriend along with him. Reid threw him a questioning look but obediently stepped back into the ship. Morgan quickly drew him to one side and spoke as loud as he dared, so as to be heard over the cacophony outside, but without being overheard. “Okay, Reid, here's the thing,” he said hastily, “Aurora's sentient so I know she can help but I don't know how well she understands spoken words, so we'll have to, ah,” he made vague gestures with both hands, “project our intent, so to speak. So I want you to get behind everything I say and think it as loud as you can, and also do everything that I do. Got it?”

“Do everything that you do and project intent,” the younger man confirmed. “Got it.”

A nod, and Derek slipped one hand around the back of Spencer's neck and pulled him into a quick, closed-mouth kiss before releasing him. He stepped to the side of the door and Reid did the same on the opposite side. He pulled at a metal bar that looked like it was strengthening the door frame, when it was in reality something that he'd installed in case he ever needed to shoot out of the open door in flight. Like he needed to now. He pulled at the bar and saw Reid frown in confusion but do the same on the other side. Morgan didn't take the time to explain. He'd see soon enough. A panel fell off, and in the hollow cavity behind it were straps and harnesses. Morgan quickly tied himself to the ship, without going so far as to put the harness on. There was just no time. As soon as he saw Reid had done the same, he called out, “Aurora?” He drew his other gun so that he had now one in each hand. “Aurora, can you hear me?” The ship suddenly roared to life. All of the lights turned on, and the engine purred and roared alternatively. “Aurora, take us to the sky!” He thought the words loudly as he said them, sending all of his intent towards the amorphous being that inhabited the metal frame. “To the sky!” There was a bit jolt and suddenly they weren't in the large cavern where the ship had been hidden by the unscrupulous individuals who had wanted to steal it, but they were far above the action, flying over the large group of people on the ground. “Closer to them,” Morgan said urgently. “Closer so we can shoot!”

With another jolt, they were in shooting range, flying erratically over the melee, so as to avoid their enemies anticipating their path and firing at them, something that Morgan hadn't specified and was delighted for. Truly, Aurora was an amazing person... being.. thing. With a nod at Reid, he stepped in the doorway, slipping one foot into a handle by the side of the door to anchor himself. He shot two successive bullets and only saw one man go down. Reid was at his side, firing as well. The erratic movement of the ship made it harder for the men below to shoot at them, but it made aiming also incredibly tricky for Derek and Spencer. The smuggler was pretty certain that half of his bullets buried themselves harmlessly in the rocky ground or the gnarled wood of the bushes and trees.

One of the cars went clear through the group of henchmen and did such a sharp U-turn that the vehicle went into a momentary sideway slide before righting itself up. Morgan heard Prentiss curse and shout, “Garcia, watch it! I nearly got decapitated by a goddamn tree!”

The smuggler didn't hear the techie's response, but the car was speeding towards the fighting anyway and more shots rang out. In and out of the melee, the cars swerved and weaved through and all around them, men and women were ducking for cover or falling dead. Morgan himself felled more than one would-be kidnapper and though he couldn't really focus too much of his attention on his lover, he was pretty sure that the young doctor was equally successful.

Suddenly, there were the yells of, “Garcia!” and, “Look out!” and the car that the hacker was driving went into another slide and this time, it hit a tree. Morgan cursed softly, watching Hotch jump out while Prentiss was ejected and thrown into a bush. Most of the damage was on the driver side of the vehicle, and Morgan started mentally telling the techie to get out, to run from the car in case the fuel tank caught on fire. Some time passed, where the Aurora flew in the other direction, preventing Morgan from seeing what was going on with his friends.

“Aurora!” he called out. “Go to Garcia! We've gotta protect her, gotta help her!” The ship veered sharply and with another of these sickening jolts that Morgan thought he'd never get used to, they were above the car and he could clearly see Garcia inside, trying to break a window so she could escape the vehicle. But knowing Rossi, the man had acquired bulletproof cars with equally safe windows. “Garcia,” he yelled to get her attention, then, when her wide, scared eyes met his, he pointed to the back window that was open and out of which Hotch had been shooting. He saw her clamber over the back of her seat, try to squeeze herself through. Beside him, Reid kept shooting, keeping their enemies at bay.

Finally, Penelope managed to get to the back of the vehicle and she heaved herself through the window, just as the tank finally caught fire. “Morgan!” she cried, obviously frightened.

The smuggler didn't need her to call him twice. He holstered one gun, threw the other one to the side, as he didn't want to waste precious minutes leaning over to put it away in his ankle holster. He leaned out of the ship for her. “Hold out your arms!” he cried. “Penelope! Your arms!!”

She reached up and he grabbed her firmly. He was about to tell Aurora to fly further away, but she was already doing it and in such a manner that the rest of the young woman slid effortlessly out of the car. She batted her feet in sudden fear as she was drawn into the air, and her shoes fell off with two loud _thunk_ sounds against the frame of the car. He pulled her inside, safely away from any stray bullet. She clung to the wall, looking obviously shaken and scared. He motioned to the harness that he hadn't bothered with, and together, they strapped her safely inside it. Then he turned back to the door and it was Emily's turn to be rescued. She was standing close to where she'd been flung, firing away, but a group of people were slowly closing in on her.

“Prentiss!” Morgan called and she looked up, fired two more shots, then literally jumped into his arms. He caught her easily, twisting on himself to deposit her safely out of the way, partly so she wouldn't get shot at and partly so she wouldn't fall back out. There was nothing to tie her with, so he motioned to Garcia and Emily grabbed hold of the cords holding the harness, gripping them tightly. Already, Morgan was turning back towards the door and about to ask Aurora to go for Hotch, but the ship had anticipated his request once more and Hotch came barrelling in. Morgan barely managed to catch him, stopping him from going over the couch, or possibly the kitchen counter.

Then they flew higher, the ship righting itself up. Morgan helped Hotch across the door so he could hang onto the second harness, and then they were firing into the melee again, flying low and high, left and right. Ashley seemed to be a better driver than Garcia was, and she easily drove through the dangerous terrain. Rossi and Jordan were still firing, though there seemed to be no end to the number of people that tried to overpower them. Just as Morgan thought it, the Aurora flew higher, giving him a bird's eye view of the area. The smuggler cursed softly, noticing three cloaked areas out of which more and more people came out, like soldier ants out of colony tunnels. They went lower again, flying just beside the car.

“Rossi!” Morgan managed to get his attention. “We gotta get outta here! They keep coming and there's no end to 'em.” The older smuggler nodded in understanding. He holstered his guns and carefully manoeuvred so that he was crouching over the car. The moment he lifted his arm, Aurora swooped in and Morgan caught him. A moment later, Rossi was holding onto the empty harness next to Hotch, and Derek was going for Jordan. To his surprise, she shook her head. He frowned at her, and she pointed to the driver seat. Ashley. She wouldn't leave the petite woman alone against an army. Nodding in understanding, Morgan drew his gun and, together with the ones aboard who could fire, he covered the car as the two woman carefully switched places, with the vehicle still in drive.

The moment that Ashley was at the car window, Morgan put his gun away once more and he grabbed her as the ship flew nearby. It was good that Aurora had perfect mastery of the ship, or Ashley could have been cleaved in two by the car door, as she'd only been reaching out of it from the waist up. Aurora flew higher again. They watched as Jordan drove at breakneck speed, trying to get out of the thick of people. No matter where she drove, people seemed to appear out of nowhere. Whoever the Fisher King was, he seemed to have raised a veritable army.

Finally, she was cornered against a rocky hill, and she veered the car around so she could get out of it on the side facing the outcrop rather than the people coming at her. She slid out of the vehicle, drawing her gun, and she came around, shooting and swearing and calling the men sissies, daring them to take her. The Aurora swooped in. The ship flew over, tilted on its side, putting the door right above the dark-skinned woman. One last shot, and Jordan raised both arms. Morgan and Reid grabbed one wrist each and the ship flew higher and higher, only righting itself up when the temperature outside got cold due to their altitude. When all were safely inside, Morgan slapped his palm down on the panel controlling the exterior door and it slid shut in an instant.

They took a moment to breathe in relief, looking at one another, confirming to their friends and to themselves that all was well, all were alive, unhurt and accounted for. Prentiss was the first to start laughing, a quiet, nearly inaudible chuckle at first. Morgan followed, then Reid, Jordan, and finally, Ashley and Garcia. Even Hotch cracked a half-smile. His eyes, more expressive than his mouth, showed his relief in a way even Prentiss' laughter showed hers. They laughed louder and louder, then quieter again before falling silent one by one.

Garcia sat up, looked around at each and every one of them. Her brows met above the bridge of her nose in a confused frown. “Who's piloting the Aurora?” she suddenly asked. The others started looking at themselves and one another, obviously effectuating a headcount just as she had. Morgan and Reid looked at each other. The young doctor tilted his head, obviously telling Derek that it was his story to tell if he so wished. But he wouldn't. The smuggler gave a shake of his head and got back to his feet, unfastening the rope that was tying him to the ship. Reid did the same and slowly, all of the little company started sorting themselves out and getting to their feet.

Morgan preceded them to the empty cockpit, but the minute the door slid open, all they could hear was JJ's voice frantically calling for them. “Morgan! Morgan, goddamn it, where are you?!” There was a string of curses that would make a soldier blush. “Mayday, mayday!” He voice rose in volume. “We are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack!” Another curse and she called to her crew and the other ships in the armada, “All gunhands to their station, we are under attack. Enemy sighted and engaged. I repeat, all gunhands to their station.” Then, “Morgan, where the fuck are you? Mayday! Can anyone hear me?”

Morgan rushed to his seat.

“Mayday!” JJ was still calling helplessly. “We're hit! Shields down to thirty percent. Morgan!”

A crackle, a _beep_ , and the cockpit fell silent.

* * *


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SPACE PEW PEW PEW.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I wrote this chapter while listening to Two Steps From Hell. You should give them a listen because it's epic._

* * *

** Chapter 32 **

 

Morgan switched on the microphone. “JJ,” he hailed, “JJ, what's your position?” He waited a moment and Prentiss went and sat in the copilot's chair. Morgan glanced sideways at her but didn't comment. She didn't belong there. Reid did. But he kept his peace, knowing that she was probably worried for her second in command and long time friend. He switched to a broader spectrum of radiowaves. “This is Morgan, piloting the Aurora above New Nevada; hailing the Fiery Maiden. JJ, do you read me? JJ?”

 

 

He threw another side-way glance at Emily who had just opened her own audio connection. She typed in a code. “This'll put us on the emergency broadband wave that I use for my fleet,” she explained. She turned towards the microphone. “This is captain Emily Prentiss, currently aboard the Aurora, hailing first mate Jennifer Jareau. JJ, do you read me?”

 

 

There was a long, tense silence. Then, finally, “Oh, Em, it is _so_ good to hear your voice!” The sound was a little static and weak, but it was JJ, all right. “Shields are down, main communication deck was obliterated. We've sustained a lot of damage, but we're holding on.”

 

 

“We're coming,” Prentiss told her, not bothering to check with Morgan if this was all right with him. It bothered him a bit, but he let it slide, since he had been about to go in and help whether Emily promised to or not. JJ was his friend, too. He didn't want her to come to harm. “What's your position?”

 

 

There was another long, tense moment of silence, before JJ's voice was heard again. “Nearing New Nevada on the dark side,” she said. “We were set to arrive above Varna the day after tomorrow. Hope the Aurora's as fast as Morgan boasted it to be.” A few curses and a loud explosion. They could hear JJ order to close and seal a door to keep the bridge pressurized. Then, “Presently engaged eleven Valiant class ships, as well as twenty-some Bayonet class one-seaters.” Another distant sound of explosion. “Sending our coordinates. Hurry!”

 

 

There was a soft ditty and Morgan slid his fingers over one of the panels. “Got it,” he assured JJ. “Keep the broadband open. We're coming.” He started his fastest engine, the one that Aurora used to know when to go dimension-hopping to go faster, though it was more for the benefit of his passengers. They had probably guessed enough, and he meant to keep Aurora's secret as much as he could. As he slid his fingers over the speed meter, he thought to Aurora to get them over there as fast as possible, the moment he told her to go. Out loud, he said, “Find a seat and tighten your seat-belts, ladies and gentlemen. This is going to be a rough ride. Hotch.”

 

 

“What?” The P-rep sounded cool and above everything.

 

 

“Man the second gun?” Morgan asked, turning his order into a suggestion. It just didn't feel right, ordering Hotch around. He pointed to a seat to his far right. “Prentiss, I'm counting on you for first gun.”

 

 

“Got it,” the two of them said with such incredible timing that it was a little creepy. They were definitely attuned to each other, that was for certain.

 

 

“Reid,” Morgan called and he patted the chair that Emily had just vacated to sit at the first gun control deck. Technically, Derek could do it all from his seat, but he was going to focus on crazy space manoeuvres and let the other two man the guns. Spencer slid into the copilot's chair and strapped himself in, reminding Morgan to do the same. “Every one all settled?” he asked. He received a chorus of yeahs and yesses in response, so he thought out to Aurora, _Now_.

 

 

There wasn't the sickening lurch that he felt on land when they jumped through the dimensions, and Morgan wondered if it was because they had no visual point of reference to confuse their minds. In any case, one moment, they had been flying empty skies, and suddenly, they were in the thick of a battle. Morgan cursed, ran his fingers on a panel and the ship swerved out of the way of a small one-seater. The long spine that gave them their name missed the plane by a matter of inches.

 

 

Hotch started shooting first, followed by Prentiss. They had obviously been taken aback at the jump and it had taken them a moment to adjust and start firing. Morgan swerved to avoid another Bayonet ship, and a moment later, Prentiss shot it down. It started spinning out of control and hit one of the larger ships, causing a huge explosion. Emily cursed. “That's one of my ships!” she exclaimed. “Son of a bitch!”

 

 

“Morgan!” That was JJ on the emergency wave. “How'd you get here so fast?!” A pause. “Nevermind! Valiant to our starboard! We can't get past their line of fire in time!”

 

 

“Coming!” Morgan told her and he mentally urged Aurora on. A moment later, they were between the Fiery Maiden and the Valiant class military ship. “Hotch!”

 

 

“Got it,” the P-rep assured him calmly. He started shooting at the Valiant. “Can you go towards her port side?” he asked suddenly. “The fuel tank is by the base of the little turret. Prentiss!”

 

 

“Copy,” she answered. “Concentrate fire below turret.”

 

 

“Yeah,” Morgan said, manoeuvring to the large, imposing ship's port side. He avoided another Bayonet and went into a barrel roll, before righting his ship just within firing range to the fuel tank.

 

 

“Fire,” Hotch's calm voice ordered, and he and Prentiss focused all of their fire power on the vulnerable side as Morgan flew the ship over it, slaloming between the shots fired by the turret. When they'd passed it, he turned around to see the damage, just in time to see the tank explode in a ball of fire that soon spread to the entire ship. Prentiss whooped in victory.

 

 

“Concentrate fire below turret on port side!” JJ was yelling at the rest of the fleet. “Get those Valiants off our back!” Then she called, “Morgan!”

 

 

“Morgan here,” he answered.

 

 

“Our two turrets are gone,” she told him. “We have no fire power on the Fiery Maiden!”

 

 

“Copy!” he said right away. “Covering you.” He swerved, turned the ship around and headed back towards the pirate flagship. He went around it in a wide arc, and his gunmen got two more Bayonets out of the sky. Morgan did another sweep around the large ship.

 

 

“Other Valiant incoming!” Ashley warned from behind him.

 

 

“I see him!” Prentiss exclaimed. “Morgan!”

 

 

“Port side, here we go!” Derek said cheerfully, manoeuvring easily around the large, slower ship.

 

 

“Fire!” Emily exclaimed, used to yelling orders during battles. She shot at the Valiant's weak spot as they flew by and Hotch did the same. The tank exploded just as the Aurora was at its closest, and the blast sent them sideways in a barrel roll.

 

 

Morgan swore viciously and fought to regain control of his ship as up was down, was up again. It took a moment, and after he had swerved out of the way of yet another Bayonet, he turned the ship around to return to the Fiery Maiden. “Every one okay?” he wanted to know.

 

 

“I'm fine,” Reid assured him softly.

 

 

“I'm good,” Hotch said.

 

 

“Good here too,” Emily added.

 

 

Morgan turned slightly towards the back, but didn't dare take his eye off of the screens showing him what was around the Aurora. “Girls?”

 

 

“Okay here,” Jordan answered.

 

 

“I'm all right,” Garcia said, sounding a little shaky.

 

 

“I think I'm gonna be sick,” Ashley told them, “but other than that, it's all good.”

 

 

“No puking,” Morgan joked. “I ain't got any bag for that. What do you think this is? A PSA airline?” He caught the cautioning look that Reid threw his way. Ah, right. These people might not know much about PSA anything.

 

 

“I'm good too,” Rossi piped up, somewhere behind him, “but don't mistake me for one of the girls. I don't look that good in a dress.”

 

 

Morgan snorted, amused in spite of himself. “Get ready, cause we're goin' back in!” He did another sweep around the Fiery Maiden and noticed something.

 

 

“JJ!” he called. “JJ, you still got your turrets! They're damaged but they seem functional.”

 

 

“I can't get anyone there,” she answered. “Access is cut off.”

 

 

Morgan did another fly-by. “Yeah, I see it.” He whistled. “Jesus, girl. You've got holes bigger than the Aurora in there.”

 

 

“I know,” JJ answered. “Damn Bayonets got us.”

 

 

“There's a hatch,” Emily suddenly said. She un-buckled herself and leaned over Morgan's shoulder, pointing. “If you can connect, I can get in.”

 

 

“Piece of cake,” he assured with a grin. “Let's see if the other turret has the same, then you can get someone in one and take the other.”

 

 

“I'll go!” Jordan volunteered. “I'm kind of useless here.”

 

 

“Okay,” Morgan said, flying the Aurora to the other side of the large pirate flagship. “I see it!” he called out suddenly. “There's the hatch. Prentiss!”

 

 

“Yeah, I remember how to open connections between your ship and mine,” she assured him with a toothy grin. “You comin' Jordan?” Morgan heard the cockpit door slide open.

 

 

Garcia called out, “Ashley?”

 

 

“I'm going with Jordan,” the petite blonde answered. “I have to.” She sounded nearly apologetic.

 

 

Morgan chanced a glance back just in time to see the youngest one of them run after the other two, then the door slid shut behind her. He swore again, hoping the girl would be all right. He had to leave it up to her and up to chance. He moved the ship into position and connected to the hatch. A Bayonet came at them, but Hotch smartly shot at its side wing engine, obliterating it. The one-seater swerved far from them.

 

 

Rossi slid into the chair Prentiss had vacated. “When all this is over,” he commented, “please tell me you'll take me back to my ship. You fly worse than a bat out of hell.”

 

 

“We're in,” Jordan said on the emergency wave, before Morgan could answer him. “Turret is operational.”

 

 

“All good!” That was Prentiss from the door panel. “Ready to head to the other turret.”

 

 

“Roger,” Morgan answered and disengaged his ship. A few moments later, Emily was at the other turret and they were ready to get back into the thick of the battle. Morgan flew the Aurora in a wide arc around the Fiery Maiden, when suddenly one of the large ships exploded in a huge fireball some distance away from them. Not far enough that they weren't bombarded by tons of fiery, metallic debris.

 

 

“Screaming Fury down!” JJ suddenly exclaimed. “That was one of ours!”

 

 

“Watch out for the debris,” Prentiss' voice warned.

 

 

Morgan slalomed and swerved and managed to avoid the big ones, but they still heard smaller fragments hit the hull of the ship with small clanking sounds. Derek winced. “Sorry, baby,” he told Aurora, soothingly sliding his fingers on the top of the darshboard.

 

 

“Valiant class on the starboard side,” JJ warned.

 

 

“Got it,” Jordan assured her.

 

 

Morgan flew around just in time to see its fuel tank explode. Just then, two Bayonets came at them so he flew in an arc around them, letting his two gunmen get rid of them. After that, there was a Valiant class ship, then another. Three more one-seaters attacked. On the emergency broadband, occasional warnings and shouts. One of the pirates' smaller ships went down in an explosion of fire, metal and flesh.

 

 

“Valiants!” JJ suddenly cried out. “Starboard turret, you've got two Valiants coming at you!”

 

 

“I see them!” Jordan assured.

 

 

Morgan had another one on his hands, plus a Bayonet, so he had to trust his friends to take care of those. He flew in-between the two enemy ships, the one-seater under the Aurora, the larger ship above. Then he slid sideways and flew in an arc to come back and attack, only to see the Bayonet had turned, trying to stab the Aurora with its spine, and had plunged head-on into the Valiant.

 

 

“Morons,” Rossi commented.

 

 

“Starboard turret down!” they suddenly heard on the emergency wave.

 

 

“Jordan?” Morgan called worriedly. “Jordan, you okay?”

 

 

“We're hit!” It was Ashley's voice. “Jordan's hurt but alive. I'm taking her place.”

 

 

“No!” This was quieter, as Jordan was rather far from the microphones, it seemed. “Ash, don't!”

 

 

“I can do this!” Ashley assured and Derek couldn't help but admire the girl's courage. Manning a turret was dangerous work. “Just watch me!”

 

 

“Valiant in-coming!” JJ warned. “Starboard turret, we need you!”

 

 

“Got it!” the young blonde assured. And to Morgan's amazement, she fired straight at the ship's weakest point. Three shots, fired with deadly accuracy, and that was all it took. The fuel tank went out in a large, silent explosion.

 

 

Morgan flew around the flagship, then went down into the melee. Rossi got a Blunderbuss, then Hotch got one too. Like the men on land, there just seemed to be no end to the number of people implicated in the operation. The Aurora swerved around a Bayonet, avoiding its spine, then Derek went after another Valiant.

 

 

“That's not right,” Emily suddenly said. “That Thunder class ship hasn't moved since we got here. Morgan, can you see it?”

 

 

There was a soft sound and Morgan looked at the coordinates that she'd sent, then flew the Aurora towards it to investigate, leaving the Valiant that he'd been trailing. Like Prentiss had said, there was that lone Thunder class ship, looking formidable and imposing. Other ships came and went, fired and swerved, but the gigantic silver ship was perfectly still, or as still as one could be in an ever-moving universe. “Bet it's their big boss,” he muttered. “Change of tactics. Get the Thunder! Hotch, do you know their weakness?”

 

 

“Thunder class ships are new, classified models,” the P-rep answered. “No one knows anything about them yet.”

 

 

“Watch me,” Garcia said, getting her tablet.

 

 

Morgan went around the large ship, spotting its many turrets, trying to locate the bridge. Other ships were coming at them and he avoided them as best he could. Rossi shot another one-seater down. Morgan hoped that it would hit the ship, but it didn't and the fireball that had resulted from the fuel exploding flew harmlessly by the Thunder class monster. They got another Bayonet before a Valiant came at them. This time, they seemed wise to the pirates' tactics and kept their port side protected. Morgan tried a few times to get at it, before swearing and going for the bridge. He aimed the Aurora on a straight course for it, letting his gunmen fire at will. Hopefully they'd get through the shield. At the very last minute, he moved his ship up and away, avoiding the collision. Another pass, and they finally got through the shield. The larger ship's command centre was obliterated, leaving it useless and defenceless.

 

 

“Garcia!” Morgan called urgently.

 

 

“Got it!” the hacker told him. “No physical weakness in the ship, baby cakes. None at all.”

 

 

The smuggler made a face. “So what do we do?”

 

 

“Watch me,” Penelope said, a sadistic tone that Morgan had never heard in her voice before. “Just keep us up and running, and I'm gonna take care of the little Thunder ship.”

 

 

“Holy shit, that girl can shoot!” That was JJ. “Where did you find her?!”

 

 

“Who, Ashley?” Morgan sent back. “She's our cook.”

 

 

“Forget cooking!” JJ exclaimed. “Give the girl a gun and she'll be the best pirate the universe has ever seen!”

 

 

“Or P-rep,” Hotch countered.

 

 

“Too late,” Emily sent back. “I've already hired her.”

 

 

“Ah-ha!” Garcia suddenly exclaimed. “Gotcha!” She was typing furiously on her small pad. “Morgan, go back towards the Thunder?”

 

 

“Yes ma'am.” He went as directed, slaloming between ships until he caught sight of the silver monstrosity again. Its lights flickered and went out. The Aurora flew around it a few times. “What did you do?” Derek wanted to know. “Wait, is that Valiant fleeing?”

 

 

“They're leaving!” JJ cried out. “They're leaving! Victory!”

 

 

“I sent a virus to their main system,” Garcia explained, proud as a peacock. “There were no chink in their _physical_ armour, but their programs were full of holes ready to be infected.”

 

 

“Woman,” Morgan said, turning to grin at her, “you are a genius!”

 

 

“I know,” she answered cheekily. “I can't shoot, but I think I've just won you a battle.”

 

 

“That you did, mama,” he agreed easily. “That you did.” He flew in an arc, returning to the flagship, and he completed two full rotations around her. Everywhere around them, enemy ships were leaving, fleeing and the pirate armada was left critically hit, but undefeated. “JJ,” he called after a moment, “how are things? Can you hold up until we reach New Nevada?”

 

 

“Should last until then,” she said, “but we'll be in need of major repairs. We'll be stuck on that rock for months!”

 

 

“I hope they have the supplies we'll need!” That was Emily. “I'd much rather be on Sett Beta.”

 

 

“Hmm,” Morgan said pensively, debating with himself. He glanced at Reid, wondering how much to reveal. Finally, he decided his friends were worth trusting. “I may be able to arrange something.” He reached over to Reid, squeezed his fingers and nodded, hoping the young doctor would get what he meant. Then, he mentally asked Aurora for a feat that he wasn't even entirely sure she could manage. When he looked at the younger man, he seemed to be lost in thought, and Morgan hoped that it meant he was thinking the same.

 

 

“Wait, what?” JJ suddenly exclaimed. “One ship just up and vani– what?! There goes another one!”

 

 

Morgan turned his ship so he could see all of the armada. He watched as one by one, the ships disappeared without a trace. And he knew that somewhere, above Sett Beta, ships were suddenly showing up out of nowhere.

 

 

“I don't believe it!” Rossi exclaimed softly. Hotch remained silent, but when Derek glanced at him, he could see the man intently observing the screens.

 

 

When the entire armada was gone, Morgan felt Aurora return. This was something new, something he'd never felt before. Suddenly, he knew she was there, just as he knew that Reid, Hotch, Rossi and Garcia were with him. And the armada reappeared in its entirety. There was a chipper sound, and when Morgan looked down at the message screen, there was a note from Aurora, something that made him smile. Beneath them, a lush, vibrant planet. “Welcome to Sett Beta,” Derek said slowly. “The Kickin' Spats is in hangar twelve, dock thirty-three. I hope you've enjoyed your trip aboard the Aurora, please wait until the ship is completely stationary before unbuckling your seat-belts. Thank you very much, and we hope to see you again soon.”

 

 

Behind him, silence. Garcia, Hotch and Rossi were staring at the planet below with large, disbelieving eyes.

 

Morgan and Reid exchanged a glance and the younger man broke into a smile, that Derek couldn't stop himself from mirroring.

 

On the emergency broadband, JJ's soft whisper. “I don't believe this.”

 

* * *

Morgan switched on the microphone. “JJ,” he hailed, “JJ, what's your position?” He waited a moment and Prentiss went and sat in the copilot's chair. Morgan glanced sideways at her but didn't comment. She didn't belong there. Reid did. But he kept his peace, knowing that she was probably worried for her second in command and long time friend. He switched to a broader spectrum of radiowaves. “This is Morgan, piloting the Aurora above New Nevada; hailing the Fiery Maiden. JJ, do you read me? JJ?”

 

He threw another side-way glance at Emily who had just opened her own audio connection. She typed in a code. “This'll put us on the emergency broadband wave that I use for my fleet,” she explained. She turned towards the microphone. “This is captain Emily Prentiss, currently aboard the Aurora, hailing first mate Jennifer Jareau. JJ, do you read me?”

 

There was a long, tense silence. Then, finally, “Oh, Em, it is _so_ good to hear your voice!” The sound was a little static and weak, but it was JJ, all right. “Shields are down, main communication deck was obliterated. We've sustained a lot of damage, but we're holding on.”

 

“We're coming,” Prentiss told her, not bothering to check with Morgan if this was all right with him. It bothered him a bit, but he let it slide, since he had been about to go in and help whether Emily promised to or not. JJ was his friend, too. He didn't want her to come to harm. “What's your position?”

 

There was another long, tense moment of silence, before JJ's voice was heard again. “Nearing New Nevada on the dark side,” she said. “We were set to arrive above Varna the day after tomorrow. Hope the Aurora's as fast as Morgan boasted it to be.” A few curses and a loud explosion. They could hear JJ order to close and seal a door to keep the bridge pressurized. Then, “Presently engaged eleven Valiant class ships, as well as twenty-some Bayonet class one-seaters.” Another distant sound of explosion. “Sending our coordinates. Hurry!”

 

There was a soft ditty and Morgan slid his fingers over one of the panels. “Got it,” he assured JJ. “Keep the broadband open. We're coming.” He started his fastest engine, the one that Aurora used to know when to go dimension-hopping to go faster, though it was more for the benefit of his passengers. They had probably guessed enough, and he meant to keep Aurora's secret as much as he could. As he slid his fingers over the speed meter, he thought to Aurora to get them over there as fast as possible, the moment he told her to go. Out loud, he said, “Find a seat and tighten your seat-belts, ladies and gentlemen. This is going to be a rough ride. Hotch.”

 

“What?” The P-rep sounded cool and above everything.

 

“Man the second gun?” Morgan asked, turning his order into a suggestion. It just didn't feel right, ordering Hotch around. He pointed to a seat to his far right. “Prentiss, I'm counting on you for first gun.”

 

“Got it,” the two of them said with such incredible timing that it was a little creepy. They were definitely attuned to each other, that was for certain.

 

“Reid,” Morgan called and he patted the chair that Emily had just vacated to sit at the first gun control deck. Technically, Derek could do it all from his seat, but he was going to focus on crazy space manoeuvres and let the other two man the guns. Spencer slid into the copilot's chair and strapped himself in, reminding Morgan to do the same. “Every one all settled?” he asked. He received a chorus of yeahs and yesses in response, so he thought out to Aurora, _Now_.

 

There wasn't the sickening lurch that he felt on land when they jumped through the dimensions, and Morgan wondered if it was because they had no visual point of reference to confuse their minds. In any case, one moment, they had been flying empty skies, and suddenly, they were in the thick of a battle. Morgan cursed, ran his fingers on a panel and the ship swerved out of the way of a small one-seater. The long spine that gave them their name missed the plane by a matter of inches.

 

Hotch started shooting first, followed by Prentiss. They had obviously been taken aback at the jump and it had taken them a moment to adjust and start firing. Morgan swerved to avoid another Bayonet ship, and a moment later, Prentiss shot it down. It started spinning out of control and hit one of the larger ships, causing a huge explosion. Emily cursed. “That's one of my ships!” she exclaimed. “Son of a bitch!”

 

“Morgan!” That was JJ on the emergency wave. “How'd you get here so fast?!” A pause. “Nevermind! Valiant to our starboard! We can't get past their line of fire in time!”

 

“Coming!” Morgan told her and he mentally urged Aurora on. A moment later, they were between the Fiery Maiden and the Valiant class military ship. “Hotch!”

 

“Got it,” the P-rep assured him calmly. He started shooting at the Valiant. “Can you go towards her port side?” he asked suddenly. “The fuel tank is by the base of the little turret. Prentiss!”

 

“Copy,” she answered. “Concentrate fire below turret.”

 

“Yeah,” Morgan said, manoeuvring to the large, imposing ship's port side. He avoided another Bayonet and went into a barrel roll, before righting his ship just within firing range to the fuel tank.

 

“Fire,” Hotch's calm voice ordered, and he and Prentiss focused all of their fire power on the vulnerable side as Morgan flew the ship over it, slaloming between the shots fired by the turret. When they'd passed it, he turned around to see the damage, just in time to see the tank explode in a ball of fire that soon spread to the entire ship. Prentiss whooped in victory.

 

“Concentrate fire below turret on port side!” JJ was yelling at the rest of the fleet. “Get those Valiants off our back!” Then she called, “Morgan!”

 

“Morgan here,” he answered.

 

“Our two turrets are gone,” she told him. “We have no fire power on the Fiery Maiden!”

 

“Copy!” he said right away. “Covering you.” He swerved, turned the ship around and headed back towards the pirate flagship. He went around it in a wide arc, and his gunmen got two more Bayonets out of the sky. Morgan did another sweep around the large ship.

 

“Other Valiant incoming!” Ashley warned from behind him.

 

“I see him!” Prentiss exclaimed. “Morgan!”

 

“Port side, here we go!” Derek said cheerfully, manoeuvring easily around the large, slower ship.

 

“Fire!” Emily exclaimed, used to yelling orders during battles. She shot at the Valiant's weak spot as they flew by and Hotch did the same. The tank exploded just as the Aurora was at its closest, and the blast sent them sideways in a barrel roll.

 

Morgan swore viciously and fought to regain control of his ship as up was down, was up again. It took a moment, and after he had swerved out of the way of yet another Bayonet, he turned the ship around to return to the Fiery Maiden. “Every one okay?” he wanted to know.

 

“I'm fine,” Reid assured him softly.

 

“I'm good,” Hotch said.

 

“Good here too,” Emily added.

 

Morgan turned slightly towards the back, but didn't dare take his eye off of the screens showing him what was around the Aurora. “Girls?”

 

“Okay here,” Jordan answered.

 

“I'm all right,” Garcia said, sounding a little shaky.

 

“I think I'm gonna be sick,” Ashley told them, “but other than that, it's all good.”

 

“No puking,” Morgan joked. “I ain't got any bag for that. What do you think this is? A PSA airline?” He caught the cautioning look that Reid threw his way. Ah, right. These people might not know much about PSA anything.

 

“I'm good too,” Rossi piped up, somewhere behind him, “but don't mistake me for one of the girls. I don't look that good in a dress.”

 

Morgan snorted, amused in spite of himself. “Get ready, cause we're goin' back in!” He did another sweep around the Fiery Maiden and noticed something.

 

“JJ!” he called. “JJ, you still got your turrets! They're damaged but they seem functional.”

 

“I can't get anyone there,” she answered. “Access is cut off.”

 

Morgan did another fly-by. “Yeah, I see it.” He whistled. “Jesus, girl. You've got holes bigger than the Aurora in there.”

 

“I know,” JJ answered. “Damn Bayonets got us.”

 

“There's a hatch,” Emily suddenly said. She un-buckled herself and leaned over Morgan's shoulder, pointing. “If you can connect, I can get in.”

 

“Piece of cake,” he assured with a grin. “Let's see if the other turret has the same, then you can get someone in one and take the other.”

 

“I'll go!” Jordan volunteered. “I'm kind of useless here.”

 

“Okay,” Morgan said, flying the Aurora to the other side of the large pirate flagship. “I see it!” he called out suddenly. “There's the hatch. Prentiss!”

 

“Yeah, I remember how to open connections between your ship and mine,” she assured him with a toothy grin. “You comin' Jordan?” Morgan heard the cockpit door slide open.

 

Garcia called out, “Ashley?”

 

“I'm going with Jordan,” the petite blonde answered. “I have to.” She sounded nearly apologetic.

 

Morgan chanced a glance back just in time to see the youngest one of them run after the other two, then the door slid shut behind her. He swore again, hoping the girl would be all right. He had to leave it up to her and up to chance. He moved the ship into position and connected to the hatch. A Bayonet came at them, but Hotch smartly shot at its side wing engine, obliterating it. The one-seater swerved far from them.

 

Rossi slid into the chair Prentiss had vacated. “When all this is over,” he commented, “please tell me you'll take me back to my ship. You fly worse than a bat out of hell.”

 

“We're in,” Jordan said on the emergency wave, before Morgan could answer him. “Turret is operational.”

 

“All good!” That was Prentiss from the door panel. “Ready to head to the other turret.”

 

“Roger,” Morgan answered and disengaged his ship. A few moments later, Emily was at the other turret and they were ready to get back into the thick of the battle. Morgan flew the Aurora in a wide arc around the Fiery Maiden, when suddenly one of the large ships exploded in a huge fireball some distance away from them. Not far enough that they weren't bombarded by tons of fiery, metallic debris.

 

“Screaming Fury down!” JJ suddenly exclaimed. “That was one of ours!”

 

“Watch out for the debris,” Prentiss' voice warned.

 

Morgan slalomed and swerved and managed to avoid the big ones, but they still heard smaller fragments hit the hull of the ship with small clanking sounds. Derek winced. “Sorry, baby,” he told Aurora, soothingly sliding his fingers on the top of the darshboard.

 

“Valiant class on the starboard side,” JJ warned.

 

“Got it,” Jordan assured her.

 

Morgan flew around just in time to see its fuel tank explode. Just then, two Bayonets came at them so he flew in an arc around them, letting his two gunmen get rid of them. After that, there was a Valiant class ship, then another. Three more one-seaters attacked. On the emergency broadband, occasional warnings and shouts. One of the pirates' smaller ships went down in an explosion of fire, metal and flesh.

 

“Valiants!” JJ suddenly cried out. “Starboard turret, you've got two Valiants coming at you!”

 

“I see them!” Jordan assured.

 

Morgan had another one on his hands, plus a Bayonet, so he had to trust his friends to take care of those. He flew in-between the two enemy ships, the one-seater under the Aurora, the larger ship above. Then he slid sideways and flew in an arc to come back and attack, only to see the Bayonet had turned, trying to stab the Aurora with its spine, and had plunged head-on into the Valiant.

 

“Morons,” Rossi commented.

 

“Starboard turret down!” they suddenly heard on the emergency wave.

 

“Jordan?” Morgan called worriedly. “Jordan, you okay?”

 

“We're hit!” It was Ashley's voice. “Jordan's hurt but alive. I'm taking her place.”

 

“No!” This was quieter, as Jordan was rather far from the microphones, it seemed. “Ash, don't!”

 

“I can do this!” Ashley assured and Derek couldn't help but admire the girl's courage. Manning a turret was dangerous work. “Just watch me!”

 

“Valiant in-coming!” JJ warned. “Starboard turret, we need you!”

 

“Got it!” the young blonde assured. And to Morgan's amazement, she fired straight at the ship's weakest point. Three shots, fired with deadly accuracy, and that was all it took. The fuel tank went out in a large, silent explosion.

 

Morgan flew around the flagship, then went down into the melee. Rossi got a Blunderbuss, then Hotch got one too. Like the men on land, there just seemed to be no end to the number of people implicated in the operation. The Aurora swerved around a Bayonet, avoiding its spine, then Derek went after another Valiant.

 

“That's not right,” Emily suddenly said. “That Thunder class ship hasn't moved since we got here. Morgan, can you see it?”

 

There was a soft sound and Morgan looked at the coordinates that she'd sent, then flew the Aurora towards it to investigate, leaving the Valiant that he'd been trailing. Like Prentiss had said, there was that lone Thunder class ship, looking formidable and imposing. Other ships came and went, fired and swerved, but the gigantic silver ship was perfectly still, or as still as one could be in an ever-moving universe. “Bet it's their big boss,” he muttered. “Change of tactics. Get the Thunder! Hotch, do you know their weakness?”

 

“Thunder class ships are new, classified models,” the P-rep answered. “No one knows anything about them yet.”

 

“Watch me,” Garcia said, getting her tablet.

 

Morgan went around the large ship, spotting its many turrets, trying to locate the bridge. Other ships were coming at them and he avoided them as best he could. Rossi shot another one-seater down. Morgan hoped that it would hit the ship, but it didn't and the fireball that had resulted from the fuel exploding flew harmlessly by the Thunder class monster. They got another Bayonet before a Valiant came at them. This time, they seemed wise to the pirates' tactics and kept their port side protected. Morgan tried a few times to get at it, before swearing and going for the bridge. He aimed the Aurora on a straight course for it, letting his gunmen fire at will. Hopefully they'd get through the shield. At the very last minute, he moved his ship up and away, avoiding the collision. Another pass, and they finally got through the shield. The larger ship's command centre was obliterated, leaving it useless and defenceless.

 

“Garcia!” Morgan called urgently.

 

“Got it!” the hacker told him. “No physical weakness in the ship, baby cakes. None at all.”

 

The smuggler made a face. “So what do we do?”

 

“Watch me,” Penelope said, a sadistic tone that Morgan had never heard in her voice before. “Just keep us up and running, and I'm gonna take care of the little Thunder ship.”

 

“Holy shit, that girl can shoot!” That was JJ. “Where did you find her?!”

 

“Who, Ashley?” Morgan sent back. “She's our cook.”

 

“Forget cooking!” JJ exclaimed. “Give the girl a gun and she'll be the best pirate the universe has ever seen!”

 

“Or P-rep,” Hotch countered.

 

“Too late,” Emily sent back. “I've already hired her.”

 

“Ah-ha!” Garcia suddenly exclaimed. “Gotcha!” She was typing furiously on her small pad. “Morgan, go back towards the Thunder?”

 

“Yes ma'am.” He went as directed, slaloming between ships until he caught sight of the silver monstrosity again. Its lights flickered and went out. The Aurora flew around it a few times. “What did you do?” Derek wanted to know. “Wait, is that Valiant fleeing?”

 

“They're leaving!” JJ cried out. “They're leaving! Victory!”

 

“I sent a virus to their main system,” Garcia explained, proud as a peacock. “There were no chink in their _physical_ armour, but their programs were full of holes ready to be infected.”

 

“Woman,” Morgan said, turning to grin at her, “you are a genius!”

 

“I know,” she answered cheekily. “I can't shoot, but I think I've just won you a battle.”

 

“That you did, mama,” he agreed easily. “That you did.” He flew in an arc, returning to the flagship, and he completed two full rotations around her. Everywhere around them, enemy ships were leaving, fleeing and the pirate armada was left critically hit, but undefeated. “JJ,” he called after a moment, “how are things? Can you hold up until we reach New Nevada?”

 

“Should last until then,” she said, “but we'll be in need of major repairs. We'll be stuck on that rock for months!”

 

“I hope they have the supplies we'll need!” That was Emily. “I'd much rather be on Sett Beta.”

 

“Hmm,” Morgan said pensively, debating with himself. He glanced at Reid, wondering how much to reveal. Finally, he decided his friends were worth trusting. “I may be able to arrange something.” He reached over to Reid, squeezed his fingers and nodded, hoping the young doctor would get what he meant. Then, he mentally asked Aurora for a feat that he wasn't even entirely sure she could manage. When he looked at the younger man, he seemed to be lost in thought, and Morgan hoped that it meant he was thinking the same.

 

“Wait, what?” JJ suddenly exclaimed. “One ship just up and vani– what?! There goes another one!”

 

Morgan turned his ship so he could see all of the armada. He watched as one by one, the ships disappeared without a trace. And he knew that somewhere, above Sett Beta, ships were suddenly showing up out of nowhere.

 

“I don't believe it!” Rossi exclaimed softly. Hotch remained silent, but when Derek glanced at him, he could see the man intently observing the screens.

 

When the entire armada was gone, Morgan felt Aurora return. This was something new, something he'd never felt before. Suddenly, he knew she was there, just as he knew that Reid, Hotch, Rossi and Garcia were with him. And the armada reappeared in its entirety. There was a chipper sound, and when Morgan looked down at the message screen, there was a note from Aurora, something that made him smile. Beneath them, a lush, vibrant planet. “Welcome to Sett Beta,” Derek said slowly. “The Kickin' Spats is in hangar twelve, dock thirty-three. I hope you've enjoyed your trip aboard the Aurora, please wait until the ship is completely stationary before unbuckling your seat-belts. Thank you very much, and we hope to see you again soon.”

 

Behind him, silence. Garcia, Hotch and Rossi were staring at the planet below with large, disbelieving eyes.

 

Morgan and Reid exchanged a glance and the younger man broke into a smile, that Derek couldn't stop himself from mirroring.

 

On the emergency broadband, JJ's soft whisper. “I don't believe this.”


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _The most astute readers will have noticed that there is an extra chapter. I wrote a bit more and reworked the epilogue, and here for your reading pleasure, we get some extra sexiness._

* * *

** Chapter 33 **

They were standing next to the hangar marked “12” in large, bold letters that seemed to be about two meters high. Rossi simply hadn't believed him when he'd told him that his ship would be there, and now, standing in front of the large, open doors, the old smuggler had the most comical look on his face that Morgan had ever seen. He laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Believe me now, you old crook?” he asked.

Rossi mastered himself and his face returned to neutral. “You know,” he said with a wry smile, “I'll start believing all that shit you spouted about your ship, yet.”

“Aw, c'mon, Rossi,” Morgan sent back. “Here I thought you believed me! Look at my face. Would I ever lie to you?”

“Yes,” the old crook sent back with a side look, dark eyes dancing with amusement, even as his face was completely blank.

“Okay, would I ever lie to you about something like that?”

This time, Rossi didn't even bother answering, opting to snort lightly instead. “So,” he said after a beat of silence, “what does your ship run on? Wishful thinking and fairy dust? Cause I gotta get me some of that.

“Professional secret,” Morgan answered. “Ah,” he looked past the old crook. “The girls are back.”

“You consider your boyfriend a girl?” Rossi laughed. “And what about that P-rep?”

“C'mon man,” Morgan replied. “They're both at the back, so I saw the girls first.”

Rossi turned around and they waited while the rest of their little group got close enough to speak without yelling.

Prentiss hailed them first. “It's going to be some months before we're off this rock,” she said when they were all standing together in front of the hangar. “I could be heading out sooner, but I'd need a new ship for that, and there's no way I can leave the Fiery Maiden behind.” She turned to Morgan. “So,” she began, and he expected her to ask about the Aurora.

Reid spoke before she could, though. He had probably come to the same conclusion that Morgan had. “We secured some rooms in a hotel here for everybody,” he told Morgan. “Well, everybody but you, Hotch and me.”

“Hotch?” Morgan turned a questioning look on the P-rep.

“I need to get back to my ship,” he said. “Though they're likely to be at the scene of the battle, wondering what happened.”

“What are you going to tell them?” Prentiss asked.

“There's no way I could have been at the site of the battle the moment it happened,” Hotch reminded her. “It was two days away and I was on the planet proper.”

“Right,” she said.

“So we're taking you back to New Nevada?” Morgan asked for confirmation.

“If you don't mind,” was his answer.

“I don't mind,” Morgan assured him. “Just promise me one thing. Well, two things.”

Hotch eyed him. “State your conditions,” he said carefully.

“One,” Morgan said, pointing a finger up, “I don't want a speeding ticket. And two,” another finger went up. “If you ever figure out who that Fisher King guy was, I want to know. Ah, and also, you don't use what you know of my ship against me.”

Hotch's gaze got a little less intense, which Morgan took as a good sign. “I don't know anything about your ship,” he said levelly. “And that makes three. Still, I accept. I'll put some people on the case, and we'll investigate the Thunder ship and try to get some answers for you.”

Damn, that P-rep was definitely not like any Morgan had ever encountered. “All right,” he told him with a grin, then added, “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.” He was rewarded with a half-smile from the dark-haired man.

“Wait, this isn't good bye, is it?” Ashley asked, voice desolate.

Morgan slid his fingers in Reid's who looked down at their hands and blinked somewhat owlishly. “No way,” the smuggler assured the blonde. “Reid and I need a little time alone, is all. We'll be back tomorrow, with all of your luggage, too.” He eyed the girls. “Are you going to behave?” he asked with a grin.

“Sure, we won't,” Garcia said with a bigger grin still.

Morgan chuckled and stepped back, pulling Reid along with him. “You girls be good, now,” he said. “Rossi, don't do anything I wouldn't do. See you tomorrow.”

The older smuggler, unable to leave it at that, had to pipe up, “Does that mean I'm not allowed to wear a dress again?”

Morgan laughed, shaking his head in amusement. There was a chorus of byes and farewells (mostly for the P-rep) and the three young men started back towards the Aurora. Morgan glanced at Hotch. “You all right leavin' her behind?” he wanted to know.

“I'm not exactly leaving her,” was the answer he got. “Emily and I have been involved for a couple of years. We always find each other again. I'm sure this time will be no different. I am in the business of pursuing people, after all. This time might be a little tricky because of that strange jump from New Nevada to here, but where the Fiery Maiden goes, we go as well. I'll see her soon enough.”

“They said it would take months for the ship to be repaired,” Morgan pointed out.

“And I've a vacation coming up soon,” Hotch told him. “Isn't that convenient.”

Morgan chuckled and glanced at Reid. The young doctor caught his look and and arched his eyebrows questioningly. The smuggler didn't know what he meant exactly, just that now that the adrenalin was wearing off, he was just glad that it's was over, that Reid was all right, that they would all be okay eventually. He squeezed the younger man's hand and kept walking. They got to the runway, where the Aurora still sat, since they were taking off again and didn't mean to stay on the planet for long.

Morgan steered them up steadily, not wanting to attract undue attention after his little stint, and he waited until he was beyond Sett Beta's only moon before he made the jump into – well, he couldn't call this hyperspace, but he supposed 'otherverse' was a bit hard for the mind to come to terms with. Suddenly, New Nevada's moon filled their screen. Aurora was smart. She knew how to avoid undue attention. Strange, in someone – something? – that had lived on her own most of her life. But then again, Morgan liked to use that tactic when travelling, so she might have just picked it up from him.

They landed close to their hotel and said good-bye to the P-rep in front of his hotel room. The door closed behind the serious man, and Morgan felt a hand slide in his. Glancing over at Reid, he was met with a shy, somewhat awkward smile. He squeezed his finger and the smile grew wider, less uncertain.

“We don't have to leave until tomorrow, right?” the young doctor asked for confirmation.

“That's right,” Morgan answered and felt a large grin pull at his lips. “We've got the night alone, we might as well enjoy it.”

“Oh,” Reid scoffed, “that will be _so_ hard.”

“Yes,” Morgan replied, his grin widening quite a bit, “it will be.”

Spencer's face scrunched up in confusion and Derek watched him, waiting or the moment when the double entendre clicked. He was rewarded for his patience when the young doctor turned an interesting shade of red. He got a light smack on his arm from Reid who grouched, “You're impossible!” There was an amused little smile playing on his lips.

“In more ways than one,” Derek agreed.

“Are we going to spend the whole day here making innuendos,” Reid asked, “or are we going to go and enjoy out time together?”

Morgan motioned towards the room he had occupied the night before – had it only been a day? Spencer threw him an amused look and started down the hall, but the smuggler went after him. He scooped him up easily and slung him over his shoulder.

“Morgan!” the young doctor cried out. “Morgan, put me down!”

“Nope,” Derek answered with a grin. “No way.”

“What if someone sees us?” Reid protested.

“Who cares?” Morgan scoffed. “I'm not ashamed of being seen with you.”

“Well, I'm ashamed of being seen carted around like a sack of potatoes,” Reid sent back.

“I can't hear you,” Morgan sing-songed as he pulled out his handheld to unlock the door. It slid open and he let the young doctor down just inside the room before flicking his thumb over the function that would close the door. When he glanced up from the device, Spencer put his hands on either side of his face and kissed him. He knew the young genius must have missed him too and it was easy to forget that embisol didn't _stop_ people's feelings, only _delayed_ them, but Reid had no qualms about reminding him by stepping forward and pushing him into the door

Ah, this was nice. This more forward side to Reid had him growl against the younger man's lips and he pulled at his hips to get him closer still. Spencer's lips were soft and greedy, and Derek was more than happy to give him what he wanted. He urged them open so that he could deepen the kiss, and their tongues met, parted, met again. Derek pushed against the young doctor, marching him backwards until they fell onto the mattress in a mess of bodies and limbs. Reid reached out for him and Morgan was already going for another kiss when the younger man pulled him in.

One kiss ended, only for another to begin. Morgan leaned on one elbow and raked his other hand down the side of Reid's torso, making the young genius whimper softly. That simple little sound got him so hot and more ready to start ripping clothes off. Another rough, impatient kiss and he pulled up. Reid looked confusedly up at him but then Morgan was getting rid of his own top. He sucked in a breath when Spencer sat up and placed a kiss on his chest, so the younger man glanced at him and started peppering his torso with nips and sucks. Derek's hands tangled in the long, curly hair and he groaned softly. When Spencer looked up, the smuggler leaned down to kiss him again. Then, he was pulling Reid's top off and the young doctor comically reemerged from it with his hair sticking up worse than usual. Morgan took one look at him and laughed.

“What?” Reid asked, looking adorably confused. “Why are you laughing?”

“You should see your head,” Morgan told him with a large grin.

“What about my head?” the young doctor wanted to know.

“Nothing,” Derek replied, grin still firmly in place. “You look gorgeous.”

“You laugh at people when they look good?” The look on Reid's face could be described as both doubtful and confused at the same time. “That makes little sense.”

“I never pretended to make sense,” Morgan informed him, “much less to a genius.” Reid scrunched up his face, obviously not following him. “There's tons of things you understand that I can't even begin to imagine,” Derek explained. “So, of course, there are things I get that you won't get. Right now, this is one of those things. Life's gotta be fair somehow.”

“No it isn't,” Spencer piped up.

Morgan shut him up with a kiss, because he didn't want to spend more time talking when they could be having amazing sex. His tactic didn't work at first. When he pulled away from the kiss, Reid opened up his mouth with that look he usually got when he was about to launch into a lecture. So Morgan kissed him again, and when the second time didn't work any better, he hoped a third, a fourth and a fifth time finally would. In the end, either because he'd succeeded in distracting Reid or because the young doctor gave up, he felt his boyfriend's arms wrap around the back of his neck and pull him in.

When they parted, he grinned at Spencer and started down his throat, loving how his actions forced a soft curse from the well-spoken genius. He reached down and undid Reid's belt buckle, lips mouthing a line down the pale column of his neck. He didn't bother pulling the belt free, instead going straight to the payload by getting the pants open and shoving his hand in. He was rewarded with a groan. He sucked at Reid's throat, trying to get his own pants undone one-handed at the same time. He was slightly off-balance, which was why a mere little shove from Reid and he suddenly found himself on his back, the young genius above him straddling his hips. He looked damn proud of himself, too.

Morgan grinned up at him, placing his free hand on the young doctor's hipbone and squeezing it tightly, but then Reid placed his hands on his chest and he swore. “Jesus, kid,” he grumbled, “I see your blood circulation is as good as it ever was.”

The young doctor had a small, apologetic smile. “I'm sorry,” he murmured. “My hands will warm up in a moment. I'm sure you wouldn't want me touching anywhere ah, more sensitive before they've warmed up some.”

Morgan winced. “Yeah, no.”

Spencer made an amused face at his reaction, but he kept his hands where they were until the palms were warm enough, then he pushed himself backwards to sit atop Morgan's thighs so he could undo his pants properly. He pulled them down the smuggler's thighs and placed his hands on either side of his pelvis. “Are my hands still too cold?” he wanted to know.

Morgan placed his own hands over them and held them there for a moment. “Okay,” he breathed out when he felt satisfied, “now's good.”

Spencer slid his hands from under Derek's and took him in one while the other one went lower to massage him. Morgan groaned. Gods, but it felt amazing! The young genius pumped him a few times then asked, “Do you still have the lubricant somewhere?”

Morgan groaned. “The bags are over there.” He pointed vaguely to the far wall from the door and regretfully watched Reid get up and walk over to where his things lay carefully pushed against the wall. Morgan groaned again, but for an entirely different reason. Namely, the view he got when the young doctor leaned over to retrieve the lube. He moved his hand over his own erection a few times. Spencer turned around and his eyebrow arched high on his forehead. “C'mon,” Derek told him, “get your hot ass back in bed, you sexy bastard.”

The young genius walked back to him but – proving yet again that his intellect wasn't only useful to keep them from crashing on the surface of the planet – he paused by the side of the bed to wriggle out of his pants. Morgan followed suit and pushed his own trousers off, kicking them carelessly aside. He wasn't even done when Spencer straddled him again, so the younger man reached back wards to get the last of it off of his foot. Pretty, smart, and flexible. He felt like he'd hit the lover jackpot. He ran both hands up Reid's torso and his thumbnails grazed the pale nipples. Spencer whimpered, arching his back, so he did it again, loving the sounds that he got from the younger man.

Eventually, Reid batted his hands away. “Enough,” he said, voice thick with passion. “Enough.” He looked down at the smuggler, eyelids heavy over his beautiful hazel eyes. “I want you in me.”

Morgan swore softly, because Reid saying it like that, looking like that, it was just – it was just incredible, that's what. “Gotta prep you,” he groaned.

Reid uncapped the bottle he had brought with him and the smell of coffee hung between them. He'd chosen coffee because, of course he did. Morgan couldn't help but chuckle, but then he let out a long string of breathless curses as the younger man's hand closed around him. He seemed to have forgone stretching himself and cut right to the chase. Morgan let his eyes close as his younger lover spread the lubricant over him. He felt Reid push himself up to his knees and he forced his eyes open, needing to see this.

There was a look of intense concentration on the young doctor's beautiful face as he lowered himself slowly, controlling his descent with legs that Morgan could have sworn were too scrawny to have that sort of control. He was ready to bet Reid still had many more surprises in store for him and he couldn't wait to discover them all, one by one.

It was slow torture, working like this, because Morgan wanted nothing more than to thrust in fully, but he didn't want to hurt Reid. It took some breathing, some time, some more lubricant, but eventually, Spencer was fully seated on him. The young doctor took a moment to adjust, then went down for a kiss, which Derek was only too happy to deliver. He felt his legs tighten on either side of his hips, and watched him pull away and push himself up before slowly sitting back on him. A breath in, a breath out, and he did it again. It was slow but amazing, and Morgan was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that he had very nearly lost this beautiful creature entirely. In that moment, he swore to himself that no matter what happened, he would never, ever willingly let go of Reid – of Spencer's – hand.

They moved against each other, into each other, too overwhelmed with the fact that they were both alive, were both together, to really care to speed things up. Eventually, Spencer stopped trying to lift himself up and he settled for rolling his hips, which was hot all on its own. Derek ran his hands up his thigh, wrapped them over the bony knobs of his hipbone. When he pushed into him next, he pulled him down at the same time, and Reid groaned softly.

Morgan urged them into a faster rhythm, but it was soon obvious that the younger man was having trouble coordinating their movements, so he flipped them over easily and hooked one of Spencer's leg over his shoulder to see if his boyfriend really was as flexible as that. As it turned out, he was, but as Morgan started thrusting into him in earnest, he stopped trying to see how he could push this, and focused onto the tight heat of Reid's body instead.

Spencer threw his head back and cried out out as a particularly hard thrust rocked him and gods, but the sound of his sweet, sweet voice raised in passion was nearly enough to make Derek blow his load. He went harder, just to hear more and more sounds from him and Reid's voice got louder still. Morgan placed a rough kiss on that sinful mouth and he wrapped his hand around him, feeling dangerously close already, and this was not the longest he could manage, but then they could always have seconds. And thirds. Gods, he wanted nothing but to make love to that gorgeous man for years to come.

Spencer whimpered against his mouth and Derek pulled away, his hand moving fast over him. “Come for me, lover,” he coaxed. “I want to feel you come.” He knelt back and rammed harder in. It was awkward with his hand around Reid's manhood, so he was relieved when the young doctor reached down to touch himself – relieved and amazed. Good gods, but the visual was amazing.

With both hands free now, he grabbed the younger man's hipbones and started pulling him as he pushed in, going for a hard rhythm. He felt Reid tighten, heard his cry louder, and he knew he was coming. He rode his orgasm through, making sure Reid was done before he let go and climaxed as well. He gave a few more thrusts, and then, just like that, it was over. He fell forward onto his hand to kiss his boyfriend, trying to put into it all of the words he'd thought but didn't feel up to saying yet. They panted softly, waiting for their breathing to return to normal, then they kissed again.

Morgan pulled out and thought they should really shower before they fell asleep, but he wanted to touch him a little more (and who knew, perhaps they would have seconds sooner rather than later) and he gathered him closer. They'd been so close to losing this forever. He meant to only wait for a few minutes, but he woke up, startled from a nap he'd never intended to make by a loud beeping sound. He pushed himself up with a groan and tried to locate his pants. He got his handheld and switched on the audio.

“Hotch, hey,” he said, then tried to clear the sleep from his voice by coughing. “Hey, what's up.”

“I didn't think you'd be asleep yet,” the P-rep said. “I just heard from a cruiser who was at the scene of the battle just now.”

“Yeah?” Morgan caught Reid's eyes as the younger man sat up, looking adorably mussed. “Did they get aboard the Thunder?”

“They have,” Hotch confirmed. “I thought you'd like to know whom they found the ship belonged to and who was found dead on bridge.”

“C'mon, man,” Morgan all but begged, “you know I wanna know, so spill it.”

“Randall Garner.”

“Randall Garner?” Morgan parroted, because the name meant nothing to him.

“The multi-trillionaire?” Reid asked.

“Himself,” Hotch answered. “There were some logs aboard that suggested he thought he had found some extraterrestrial lifeform and was offered every prestige and honour if he could prove its existence. Hope this sheds some light into what happened, if not then I probably can't help you, not until a full investigation is underway.”

“Thanks, man. 'Preciate it.”

“Don't mention it,” the P-rep replied and the communication clicked off.

Morgan and Reid exchanged looks, but there was little to say. They didn't feel ready to tell Hotch, but it had cleared everything up for them. Reid hid a yawn and Morgan chuckled. The excitment of the day had taken its toll on the both of them, as proven by their impromptu nap. He pulled Reid up and into the bathroom where they showered – only showered – together before collapsing back into bed for some proper sleep. As he fell asleep, Reid safe and sound, the length of his body pressed against his side, he thought this was where the younger man belonged. His last thought before drifting off was that everything was all right with the world now for the first time in a long, long time.

* * *


	34. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _This is it. The end._

* * *

** Epilogue **

The moment that all of the luggage was in her hotel room, Garcia got a little tearful. As he straightened up, Morgan rubbed his hands on his pants and tilted his head at her. “That's it,” he announced. “Everything you had in the room in Varna.”

“You're leaving,” she complained softly. “It took me years to finally get to meet you face to face, and now you're leaving.”

“Not forever, doll face,” he assured her, pulling her into a hug. “Reid's still got to go see his mother. That's what I was hired for. And he's really worried about her.”

“I know,” she sighed, and let herself be led outside to the small courtyard where all of their little group of friends had gathered. “I just wish you could stay.”

“I'll come back,” Morgan promised. “We'll go see Reid's mama, he'll stop fretting, and we can come back and visit again.” He reached the doors and they slid open automatically.

Once outside, he let go of her, but she caught his sleeve and pulled him closer to whisper in his ear. “That blonde first mate, JJ,” she paused, hesitating. “She's a total bombshell. You think I have a chance?”

He straightened and grinned widely at her. “Ah, baby girl,” he said, “you are one absolutely gorgeous woman, inside and out. You've saved us all, remember? You're a hero. One drop-dead gorgeous hero. How could anyone resist you?”

She punched him lightly on the arm. “Heroine,” she corrected, though she looked embarrassed and happy all at once. She turned from him and went to join the others. He followed after her, grinning to himself.

When he joined the little group, Spencer, who had been sitting cross-legged on top of a low wall like a child, got up and walked over to him. Clooney had been lying at the young doctor's feet. He jumped up, ran to the two men and started circling around them, wagging his tail excitedly. Morgan affectionately wrapped an arm around the back of Reid's neck, leaning into him a bit. After a moment, Reid leaned into him too.

“I can't believe you're leaving already,” Ashley said, looking really sad.

“They'll be back,” Rossi answered before Derek could. He took a step closer to the petite blonde and nudged her gently. “You'll see, you'll barely have time to miss them.”

“Was good seeing you again,” Prentiss told the smuggler with a grin.

Jordan tilted her head. She had an arm in a sling due to the injury sustained in the battle above New Nevada. “Next time we meet,” she said, “you had better not have some psycho with an army on your heels.”

Morgan laughed. “I assure you, I don't make a habit of that.”

“Could'a fooled me,” Emily muttered, loud enough to be heard, which got her a few chuckles.

JJ waved to them. “See you in a while,” she said easily.

Reid gave them all a rather shy wave, which prompted Morgan to ruffle his hair, just to make him a little less stiff and awkward. “Morgan,” the younger man whined, “did you have to do that?” He tried to get his hair back under control, but the curls seemed to have a will of their own and stubbornly stuck in all directions.

“All right, all right,” Prentiss scoffed. “You two lovebirds should stop flirting when we're trying to tell you goodbye.”

Reid went beet red and looked so horribly embarrassed that Morgan laughed. “Yeah, sure. After all, we'll get plenty of time alone together, right Reid?”

“Shut up,” the young doctor muttered, hiding behind his hands. Their friends laughed and teased and finally, it was time to leave.

“Say, Morgan,” JJ called out just as the smuggler was turning to lead Reid back to the Aurora, Clooney at their heel. They both paused and turned towards her. “I was thinking,” she said slowly, “with all that's happened, well,” she hesitated. Then, at length, she asked, “You're _that_ Derek Morgan, aren't you?”

Derek and Spencer exchanged a glance. “Really, now,” Morgan said slowly, smiling toothily, “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Final note:** _So this has been an amazing journey, and although I'm sad to see it end, I'm excited about what the future may hold for me. As you might have heard, I've been contacted about getting this story published as an original (after much editing I'm afraid, but out two heros will still be together because this is the 21st century, damn it). So now that we've reached the end, I would suggest to people who want to keep reading it over and over again to download it as a document. You know, just in case my spiffy new editor gets her way and I have to take the story down._
> 
> _In any case, thanks for sticking with this to the end, I hope you liked! Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews. They have made me very happy and helped me through the tough half-year I just had. I hope to see you all soon in another fic or any of my other projects. Cheers!_


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